Does "but I digress" normally get used before or after going off-topic?

Question

So i have the following> "you've never pissed off a Miko before have you? they can forcefully bind a Geis to you if you do not comply to the laws they set for their shrine and that Miko really doesn't like the Press hounding Her Ladyship on this founds. she's kind of brutal ***[but I digress,]** she beat a drunk man half to death with her heisoku because he kept annoying the other Miko by asking them out, took several Knights to stop her and now he literally craps his pants from the mere mention of a shrine **[but I digress]***, don't piss her off lest you get an Expulsion/Torture Geis"I know *"but I digress"* is used to symbolize when someone has gone off topic but returns to being on topic but with the above *"but I digress"* sounds right both before and after the off-topic portion (the non-bold italics), at least in my head (cold comfort that).So when the phase *"but I digress"* gets used is it normally used before going off-topic or after?

Answer 1

The phrase "but I digress" is normally used after going off-topic. Of course, there are some exceptions to this and it is entirely dependent on phrasing. For example, "I know this is a total digression, but..." before going to an alternate topic is an instance where it is used beforehand since the speaker already recognizes they're going to ramble (not the same as your example, of course, but it does provide an exception). However, the conjunction "but" suggests it will contrast a point that is already stated, so "but I digress" is typically used after going off-topic.

Answer 2

"But I digress" is used more often as a way of people keeping from continuing on a tangent, often when discussing something unpleasant or that they do not approve of for one reason or another.

An example would be: "I was there. I saw the bloody battlefields with my own two eyes and watched the bloodshed between neighbors, friends even. It was a terrible state of affairs, but I digress."

The speaker does not want to continue discussing a battle and notices that a tangent is developing, so he or she cuts off.

This quote was not from any book or story I know of, just something I came up with as an example. If it does happen to belong to a story, book, novel, etc. please let me know so I may give credit where credit is due.