I'll just sort that

I have a new favorite English (read UK English - which is not the same as American English) expression. I picked it up on this recent trip. Nobody works on problems or resolves issues in the UK. They just sort things. So, for example, when we did not have enough food for the first day of a training class, one of my colleagues went off to the kitchen and came back saying it was "all sorted" - and more food arrived shortly. When travel arrangement need to be changed, the administrative assistant will sort them. Although we do "sort things out" in American English, that expression has nowhere near the prevalence that sorting has in UK English. And it really made me think.

To me, this expression creates a linguistic implication. If all problems can be addressed by sorting, then the predominant cause of issues is clearly the improper placement of people or things. If everything/everyone is where they should be - requiring no sorting of any kind - then all is well with the world.

Needless to say, I like this idea a lot, at least in part because it is often true. But, to be quite frank, I like it because it takes the pressure off. All of the big words that we use to talk about problem solving seem so much more difficult. But according to my colleagues and friends in the UK, I don't need to solve, resolve, delve into, examine, analyze, discuss, deconstruct, or fix a problem. I just have to sort it. ANYBODY can sort, right?