From a reanalysis of kind of in a phrase such as a kind of merry dance from “a kind + of + merry dance” (a type among merry dances) to “a + kind-of merry + dance” (a somewhat merry dance).
I'm getting kind of tired. Could we finish tomorrow?
That's the right answer, kind of.
2022, A. M. Arthur, His Fresh Start Cowboy:
He kind of hated the idea of Hugo having been with someone else, even though that was superhypocritical, considering Brand's own previous arrangements with Ramie and Jackson.
