I was just using 「さすが」 in an email and realized how often I hear this word used. Usually when I hear it, it seems like the meaning is somewhere in the vicinity of "Ah, just as I'd expect from you." I checked around a bit, with people I know and on the internet, and it seems generally to be a complimentary term.
A great question came up on a few websites. What's the difference between さすが and やっぱり?
When I first learned 「やっぱり」, I understood it to mean "after all"--e.g. I'm afraid I can't come, after all. I have to work.
This website's explanation of さすが suggests that it's a complimentary term that emphasizes the uniqueness of a person or situation, i.e. "Only you could have done that."
http://www.yesjapan.com/YJ6/question/3426/what_039-s_the_difference_between_yappari_and_sasuga
And this website offers a scenario in which さすが might used in a negative sense.
http://tangorin.com/forum/435/
You'll have to scroll down a bit to the English explanation, which comes after the French one.
The comment also mentions the casual version of やっぱり, which is やっぱ. I hear that a lot.
For beginner to perhaps intermediate-level students, Japanese words, phrases, and expressions, as learned by an American living in Tokyo. . Some of it I absorbed from my surroundings--slang, abbreviated terms, or new katakana-ized words that have recently entered the Japanese language. Some words are straight-up conventional vocabulary that I've found helpful to know, either in the classroom (where I taught English) or in everyday life, and some words just make me smile.
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