Graduation tip of the day: Stop saying “like” and “you know”
Generational verbal tics are hard habits to break. I’m guilty myself:
“Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough has a suggestion for what young people can do for their country.
“Please, please do what you can to cure the verbal virus that seems increasingly rampant among your generation,” McCullough implored Boston College’s class of 2008 at commencement ceremonies Monday….
He said he’s particularly troubled by the “relentless, wearisome use of words” such as like, awesome and actually.
…Just imagine if in his inaugural address John F. Kennedy had said, ‘Ask not what your country can, you know, do for you, but what you can, like, do for your country actually.”
Other verbal crutches that need to be thrown in the garbage compactor:
“Frankly.”
“At the end of the day.”
“Impacting.”
And the noxious:
“My friends.”
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change
Can we throw the misuse of “literally” and “unique” onto the pile? Please?
green
” I feel”…. ranks up there with ” My friends”
save the planet
LOL - from what?
Humans have been on the planet (they say) for 3 million years and the climate has changed many times. I guess there were SUV’s for too long!
/sarc
carbon footprint
clump fo cells
These things happen
And everyone needs to review how to use apostrophes! I’m seeing way too many possessive forms out there!
Along with “One of the most unique” - a newscaster favorite.
Disrespecting
‘fact of the matter..’ will be getting a workout this election cycle..
BillT, just’ fo’ yo’…
Personally, I’m a fan of the Oxford comma, which should have been used in the above quote.
(insert word)-conscious
Frankly my friends, at the end of the day, how is this conversation, like, totally impacting my children?
I’ve noticed that Rodham has a tendency to sprinkle her speeches with ‘you know’ more frequently than one might expect from someone who graduated from both Wellesley College and Yale Law School…which would indicate to me that she is educated beyond her intelligence.
Can we also get rid of “what-ever“?
neocon
And ANYTHING ending in “GATE” unless it’s preceded by garden, walk-through, Golden or Pearly.
“at this point in time” goes on the pile also
Awesome post actually.
I vote for “And um…” to be included somewhere on the most annoying tic list. Choosing words carefully is not widely taught these days. Rather than pausing for a second as we gather our thoughts, we pad our speech with meaningless garbage such as this.
I hate the word “Digress.”
Its like you know, seriously, just like rhetoric thats so common in the youthful um, its called something like ohh darnit……oh yea vernacular.
Gossip Girls is on, gotta Jet…
Actualy i like don’t mind slang my friends. As long as at the end of the day it doesn’t like impact anything. Awsome right? seriously though, the other day I was counting the times my daughter and her freind (both 16) said “like” I got to 32 before I got out of the car. Like awsome dude.
“utilize”…that’s my pet peeve. What’s wrong with just plain old “use”?
Please add “I, for one”.
I might suggest a tip for the grads. If any portion of your visible body has a tattoo or as a nose, lip, tongue, or eye lid dangle, you are not going to get a six figure job.
L
Can we please add “totally” to that list?
Hillary
How “something”ist of you.
I vote for “dialogue.”
My second vote is for
Right on.
Can we also ban the exaggerated head-bobbing and hand gestures the talking heads are always doing? Ugh. I can’t take it.
Shall I post the “Hillary 4U&Me” song?
One that seems to be mis-employed more and more often (by supposedly educated people) is amount in place of number, as in “…large amount of people.” If the noun being described can be enumerated (even if only an estimated count), then the proper term is number.
You do realize that doing that would effectively ban Barack Obama from ever appearing
on televisionin public again?/that tilty head thing he always has going makes me wonder if his head is completely attached
“Awesome, dude, and like you know”…ssuup!
there will be a point in time where another scandal will break at the Watergate Hotel and it will be called ‘Watergate-gate’
“Similes” seem to be the way to converse these days. I’m speaking of the word “like”, in case those of you who forgot HS English.
For me, it is tiresome to listen to it all day long in conversation. I was fortunate to learn, early on, that to advance in the world and to be respected for an opinion, learn to speak proper English. When one uses slang, and improper pronunciation as well as grammar, don’t expect to be respected. I wasn’t perfect. I had a problem with “you know”. It was broken when my family repeated it, every time I said it. For young people out there, speak good English. You’ll go farther than the ones who don’t.
I keep on saying to youse, my english is gooder than youse.
I’d pay money if people would stop saying utilize when they mean use.
And don’t forget the classic, “You know what I’m sayin’?” Is this hip-hop lexicon?
“…and the balance beam is only four inches wide.”
That is why I keep my tv on mute during gymnastics (whenever they actually happen to show them)
C’mon! Surely your teachers learned you better’n that!
I support any and all measures that ensure I never have to listen to B. Hussein Obama ever again.
#22………Thats called the Like-O-Meter.
I am like basically sick and tired of basically and phenomenal.
#37………Hip Hop lexicon = Blackenese
hey i was edumicated at the bestest schools in noo zeeland. My teachers we the coolest like guys ever dude. I learned the goodest in my class.
I am droping iq points just writing this. Yo i am out my nig… err fellow commenters (must not violate the PC thought controls not black enough to say the n word and get away with it…)
graysonret said: …I had a problem with “you know”. It was broken when my family repeated it, every time I said it.
My dad did the same with my siblings and me when we were growing up. He still corrects my grammar if I slip up within his hearing - and I’m in my fifties! He considered the use of slang to be almost as bad as swearing, as well as being intellectually lazy.
You know like Change… that is the word that makes me hit the “do not hire” button.
Other verbal crutches that need to be thrown in the garbage compactor:
“Undocumented Workers”
I’ve always equated that ‘my friend’ thing with people who use the term friend mighty loosely.
When one is at a loss for words, it is easy to interject a slang as an adjective/noun or a curse word. The mouth moves faster than the brain. The brain is searching its “database” for a word, but the conversation must continue at the same rapid pace. This is the same for the word “like”. It allows a pause so the brain can catch up; especially if one’s vocabulary is limited. “You know what I’m saying” is a phrase that allows the speaker to pause, without stopping the mouth, to grasp what the thought is. My favorite has always been…”Do you understand the words coming out of my mouth?” That tickles me.
When someone has a hard time trying to convey an idea to you, with a limited vocabulary, you’ll have a lot of tiresome phrases. The normal instinct is to disregard or belittle the thought.
Know what I’m saying? Pronounced as one word: nowadahmsayn. e.g. “Like I wanna job here, nowadahmsayn?”
OK, how wide are the balance beam?
“My bad” is not an apology. It is an acknowledgement by the speaker that they have something to apologize for but they never do thinking that by saying “my bad” that they have apologized.
Grrrrr. I hate that!
Meh, I think we have more to be worried about in this world than whether people are using word crutches to express themselves.
I don’t know how it got started but, “No problem” is not a proper response to “Thank you.”
I hate “arguably”. It prevents ever having to really take a stand on anything.
Amen.
[ethnic ancestory as described by the continent or nation of origin] - American
JoeRed, “my bad” is a sports term… I shoulda caught that one, my bad…
I will forgive that one in most cases.
We, like, you know, can like cover the serious stuff and this too, actually.
Another bit of advice he might have given is to not use “chatspeak” in business emails. I’ve gotten official military emails from young troops with “u”, “lol”, and “4ever.”
It makes me want to
simcoe said:
I don’t know how it got started but, “No problem” is not a proper response to “Thank you.”
En español:
para nada, “for nothing”… as long as we have open borders, I gotta except this one too.
no problem ~ de rien, French for it is nothing. No problem is a low-rent version of “think nothing of it”.
how about not using that gandhi quote anymore… “be the change you want to see in the world”
#50..i agree completely.
Ya.
At the end of the day, this frankly isn’t, you know, impacting my friends. It would be awesome if we could actually, like, get rid of these phrases. But, you know, it’s not going to happen.
And none of this is helpful for my children.
How about “undocumented”? Let’s use Illegal invaders.
“I Do”
“Sweetie”
on a … basis
e.g., on a daily basis
Pet peeves:
“Democrat” used as an adjective — primary offender is Rush Limbaugh. “Democrat” is a noun. “Democratic” is the adjective. Get it right. You sound stupid when you mess it up.
“for free” — “free” means “for nothing,” so “for free” means “for for nothing.” It’s redundant.
“guestimate” — kills the distinction between “guess” and “estimate” — which one do you mean?
“He said he’s particularly troubled by the “relentless, wearisome use of words” such as like, awesome and actually.”
The use of the “O-comma” was schooled into me many a year back, Some sentences look disconnected or like “run ons” without one to my eye.
It’s use is optional and not a hard rule, but I too enjoy spotting one of the critters.
“Dude.”
On May 19th, 2008 at 6:45 pm, Mark
Rush uses it that way on purpose because he says “there is nothing democratic about today’s Democrat party.” And Rush isn’t stupid.
Michelle?
As a fellow Philadelphian… may we keep ” fuhgeddaboutit”? When said properly, it intimidates the hell out of people here in Minnesota.
Using of in place of ‘ve, as in should of, would of and could of. Argh!
I can’t believe how quickly this space is filling up, but
for a long time:
irregardless and
Preventative! why the extra “ta” in the middle
Ooh ooh ooh!
“Progressive”
Blechh.
I have no problem with “no problem” in an informal sense. Problems arise when speakers are unable to differentiate approprite times and circumstances for all such informalities, and they take over as normal speech patterns in every occasion. If you pick up your buddies errant golf tee or something, “Your Welcome” seems a tad formal; during a job interview?, stick to the traditional!
My verbal tick is that I say “no worries” WAY too much in those informal settings. A habit I picked up from three Kiwi roomates in college . . . it gets me a few sidways glances now and then as it’s never pronounced with a Kiwi accent, and just doesn’t sound 100% right.
“experienced” “ready from day one”
All of the above, and “sweeeeet”.
My neighbor can’t get through a sentence without the word “like”. I don’t hear anything she says because I’m mesmerized as to how many times she can say it.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeam!
Toastmasters baby.
I like to say, “shut up you stupid hippie” quite a bit. Are you guys ok with that, or should I think of something new for greens, libs, and peaceniks.
#71- mattymatt10- well said. I know the definition of “democrat” and I recognize them by sight, sound, and smell. “Democratic” should never be used as an adjective on the same page with the noun “democrat”, it is an affront to the Founding Fathers.
Sometimes I use the informal, Shut up hippy.
That may be true for you…
My favorite word to throw in the trash: VICTIM
My favorite word to throw in the trash: VICTIM
Hangfire said:
Dude!
mattymatt10 said:
In addition to negatively affecting Barack Hussein Obama, that will also ban Mac commercials.
…
This rule has my blessing.
foshizzle.
Hears horses in the background.
I think that might fall into my peeve category of “adults who need to talk like teens”.
Yes, isn’t it funny when a speech pattern is jam-packed with “like”, “you know”, etc (or constant interjections of cuss words) how easy it is to lose track of whatever real language might be in there somewhere?
I’m anti-grammar cop and it’s not a life or death thing. But can you imagine such people calling 911? “Dude, it’s like, y’know, a car, like, came through, like y’know, the light, y’know and the light was like, red…”
In the world of the written word, I am a bit taken aback at how more and more I run into “loose” for “lose” online and it’s not a typo.
banish “dialogue” as in We need to have a dialogue…
now you need to talk or have a conversation. Dialogue is what characters have.
And while we are at it could we possibly ban the use of the suffix -person when the gender is known. Such as Chairperson when the individual is a woman why can’t we just say Chairwoman or Chairman.
Let’s add McCain’s special little ditty, “my friend(s)” to the list, shall we?
“whatnot” drives me crazy
Two that I would nominate:
1) The “Dangling ‘Or’ (or more accurately, ‘Er’) - Example: “Did you want me to call them or…?” Finish the darn thought!
2) “Yeah, no…” Where the hey did this abomination come from (besides, perhaps, “How I Met Your mother” or something)?? Is this just verbal shorthand for “Yeah, I get your point, but no, I didn’t think that?” How can we have become so immediately contradictory as to reply with, “Yeah, no”?
Honorable mention (for the second post tonight):
“…and such as” (where ‘etc.’ would do).
I’d have to plead “guilty, with an explanation” to that one, T-Bird. If there are more than two options, I’ll finish it with “or what?” (and go with the other person’s preference).
If there are only 2 options e.g. “I call them or you call them”, then you’re right on. It’s a lazy, dropped half-question.
Wm F. Buckley would love this thread, totally
I’m tired of everyone calling leftist democrats liberals. Unless it’s a joke - like calling a fat guy tiny - it’s just a blatant inaccuracy.
“Didn’t” is not properly pronounced “didunt.”
Couldunt.
Isunt.
Wasunt.
Et ceterunt.
My votes:
Dude
Neocon
Ebonics
Irregardless
Guestimate
chicagojedi - I am guilty of that will try to get myself to call them leftists.
If I forget, feel free to correct me.
I am totaly for banning the use of the expression “public service” by professional politicians when they are, like, talking about their, you know, career.
I hate when people say “absolutely” instead of “yes.” News flash - it does not make you sound more articulate!
What makes me want to tear out my last bit of hair, is when I hear someone described as “the gentleman”, who just murdered, raped, molested,robbed, highjacked,terrorized or set something on fire.
I’m guilty of just about every single grammar/usage faux pas listed above. But I would NEVER use them in a professional setting!! My dad is a bit of a grammar nut (and apparently I inherited that nuttiness), and he made a point of constantly drilling this into our minds: You can use whatever language you want when you’re just hanging out with your friends. But if you are writing, or are in a professional situation, you need to speak like an educated person, not a valley girl.
As far as “should of, would of, could of,”… In Alabama, due to our slow speech patterns, that’s what should’ve, etc. sound like. But I’ll agree that when written “of” instead of “‘ve,” it just looks ignorant.
Y’all forgot the word “Liberal”, heave that in the pile as well
My husband uses this everyday and I just want to slap him every time it comes out of his mouth:
“It is what it is.”
I think I’ll go smack him with a pillow just because he may be dreaming of saying it.
One that bugs the hell out of me:
“I’m all about [whatever]”
gaaah!
fo’ shizzle
Gosh - this is totally awesome-really-like English is used here -ya know!!!!
PS Anyone ever heard of a Valley Girl?
This post is so out there, dude!
It’s kinda like “wow” you know!
/snerk
Yo, Christian Soldier, I have heard about valley girls!
And they would say, dude, that John McCain is “grody to the max!”
Valley Girls.
Ahh - ahem - yes.
The continuing curse of Frank/Moon Zappa.
The one that really gets me is when people say “me and” as in “Me and Jim went to the movies.”
Most of the common errors bother me
totwotoo.LGM
“Myself” Don’t use it unless you absolutely have to. For example, “Bill and myself…”
It makes people sound like Mike Myers in the first Austin Powers movie. “Allow myself to introduce myself…”
Mine is AXXED… Especially when I hear a supposedly educated person say it, such as a news anchor or sports figure. “HE AXXED ME TO GO WITH HIM TO THE GAME…
Oh hell! I’m so flipping guilty of these.
I remember a George Carlin routine, “Jammin’ in New York,” where he goes off on the butchery of the English language by adding words to make something sound more important, or in some instances, dehumanize it. For example, going from “shell shock” (the sound of which invokes the images of shells going off) to the more clinical “post-traumatic stress disorder.” Or, less importantly, “shower activity” or “rain event”. Or my favorite, where he starts dealing with the airlines:
Airline Employee: Get on the plane. Get on the plane.
Carlin: [expletive] you! I’m getting in the plane! Let Evel Knevel get on the plane!
Frankly, you know,
We’ve been assimilated
you know…
If I hear any of the following from someone speaking to me, I immediately tune them out and stop taking them seriously. These phrases are:
1) Starting every sentence with “basically
2) Ending every sentence with “know what I’m saying.”
3) Using “uhm” between every word.
Oh please, get rid of “basically” peppered throughout every sentence.
Liberal: call it by it’s real name please. Marxism.
////-American: Either you’re an “American” or you’re not. Ethnicity is obvious, and it’s irrelevant(or should be).
How about banning Larry the fake cable guy and “git er duuun”
“Shower activity.” It’s called “rain.”
Incorrectly using “I” to sound smarter. The lights were hung by Mary and I. Argghhh. And someone mentioned earlier about appostrophes. Drives me crazy. “He get’s along with employee’s….the car’s we drive…”
Phew, I feel better.
Obamessiah. So articulate, you know.
“Fact of the matter” - usually is said by someone trying to convince you they really do know what they’re talking about, when they obviously don’t.
stupid interjection: “, I mean,”
Incorrectly using “I” to sound smarter. The lights were hung by Mary and I…
Sorry to seem pedantic (occupational hazard - I home schooled my children through all twelve grades, and I’m a writer :p), but I is the correct form of the personal pronoun in that sentence; it’s the sentence form (passive) that makes it sound awkward.
The active form is Mary and I hung the lights.
A simple rule to follow is to drop the other person or persons from the sentence, and see which form of the personal pronoun fits. But I do agree that the incorrect use of the personal pronoun - either way - is annoying, especially when misused by supposedly educated people.
Personally, I mourn the death of the adverb.
Oh yes, and words that really need some sort of qualifier like “quality” and “change.”