The "Annoying Phrase" Thread

[Tango Yankee]

Agreed, though I am occasionally guilty of it. It is generally used, at least among my peers (millenials all) to refer a statement made earlier, without having to remember specific words. Do you have a better suggestion for a phrase to use in this case?

"I said something like..." or "I said something along the lines of..." are often used in situations like that.

The like, really annoying thing about "like" is that it's like, injected into, like, seeming random places in a like, sentence. Or something like that.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[i_am_the_scruff]

I find it annoying when someone orders a drink or food or something and says "can I get..."
Well go on then, get it yourself. It really winds me up!

 

[Carlisle Blues]

I find it annoying when someone orders a drink or food or something and says "can I get..."
Well go on then, get it yourself. It really winds me up!

...and when the server comes over and says "are you still working on that"?

I am not working on anything I am eating...go away...

 

[Shangas]

Hahahaha!!

Another phrase which I cannot stand is "Y'know?"/"Y'know what I'm saying?"

As if the guy you're talking to, has absolutely no self-confidence in his own statements or something. He's so damn insecure, he has to have everything he says, backed up by affirmation from you, that you understand what he's talking about, before he continues. Like a guy swinging from vine to vine, he has to wait for you to throw him the next one instead of swinging forward to get it himself.

Example:

"And so I went to the city today and the traffic was really heavy, y'know? And I was in the taxi and I finally said, 'I've had enough of this!', so I got out, paid the cabbie and just WALKED there! With traffic this bad, perhaps it's better that I do that, anyway! Y'know? If the government bothered to fix up the public transport system then y'know...we wouldn't have all these stupid traffic-jams, y'know?"

Come on, people. For once, be secure enough in your own speech to actually make a statement! Instead of trying to lean on someone else for support. I mean, I can understand asking that question if you GENUINELY want to hear someone else's opinions on something, or want to hear their own experiences...but to shove in there like "like", like some sort of comma, is ridiculous...

 

[Yeps]

"I said something like..." or "I said something along the lines of..." are often used in situations like that.

The like, really annoying thing about "like" is that it's like, injected into, like, seeming random places in a like, sentence. Or something like that.

Cheers,
Tom

Using those phrases would make recounting conversations take forever, but I agree that they are better than "and I was like."

As to like being injected into random places in a sentence, it is either like or um. Pick your poison.

 

[Yeps]

I just simply try and avoid it whenever possible. You'll begin to notice, if you pay attention to it, that often, the "like" doesn't have to be included at all. It's just an annoying habit.

I was referring to the one time when it has an independent meaning, that is, being used in recounting dialogue non-specific manner. As to the annoying habit of including like as a place holder, the solution is clearly to think before you speak.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Hahahaha!!

Another phrase which I cannot stand is "Y'know?"/"Y'know what I'm saying?"

Another equally irritating one is:

Can you see what I am saying? As if the words are mysteriously appearing out of the person's mouth....:eusa_doh:

 

[Paisley]

Yes--I see what you mean!

 

[Paisley]

Veggies. Everybody over the age of five should say "vegetables."

Yet I like the British "veg" for casual use. It's a good contraction that doesn't make you sound like a baby.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.


Bears repeating, though it's only an exclamation. This makes any speaker sound completely moronic:


"WOO HOO!"


*yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky*

.

 

[jamespowers]

.


Bears repeating, though it's only an exclamation. This makes any speaker sound completely moronic:


"WOO HOO!"


*yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky*

.

Well, it is a Homer Simpsonism. Obviously it is.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Well, it is a Homer Simpsonism. Obviously it is.

Sadly, I think it predates Homer Simpson. My college roommate from Wisconsin was saying it in the mid '80s.


.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

.


Bears repeating, though it's only an exclamation. This makes any speaker sound completely moronic:


"WOO HOO!"


*yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky* *yucky*

.

That is such an artificial response to a situation...

I would have more tolerance if it were an involuntary or an excited utterance.

 

[jamespowers]

Sadly, I think it predates Homer Simpson. My college roommate from Wisconsin was saying it in the mid '80s.


.

Well, Homer is from back east.

 

[jamespowers]

That is such an artificial response to a situation...

I would have more tolerance if it were an involuntary or an excited utterance.

......or if it were a drink that was decent tasting.
"Bartender, I'll have a "Woo Hoo!" please."

 

[Tango Yankee]

Using those phrases would make recounting conversations take forever, but I agree that they are better than "and I was like."

As to like being injected into random places in a sentence, it is either like or um. Pick your poison.

Ah, well... I generally try not to be in a hurry when in conversation with someone.

As to the use of "like", if I recall correctly it was a Valley Girl speech pattern from the early '80s that seems to have infected the speech patterns of people the world over.

Cheers,
Tom

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... that seems to have infected the speech patterns of people the world over.

You ain't kiddin'. Even in Chile, teenagers and kids now interject the word "como" (Spanish for "like") into sentences a thousand times a day ... just like the gringos do in English. :eusa_doh:


.

 

[John in Covina]

Even in Chile, teenagers and kids now interject the word "como" (Spanish for "like") into sentences a thousand times a day ... just like the gringos do in English. :eusa_doh: .

In John Steinbeck's "The Log of the Sea of Cortez" shortly after Pearl Harbor he and Ed Ricketts (the inspiration for Doc in Cannery Row) chartered a fishing boat to do collecting in Mexico in the gulf between Baja and the Mainland. He mentions that during a visit to one of the cities that the residents there would reply 'Como, No?' when someone was speaking sort of a polite nothing that showed they were listening to what you said.

 

[Widebrim]

In John Steinbeck's "The Log of the Sea of Cortez" shortly after Pearl Harbor he and Ed Ricketts (the inspiration for Doc in Cannery Row) chartered a fishing boat to do collecting in Mexico in the gulf between Baja and the Mainland. He mentions that during a visit to one of the cities that the residents there would reply 'Como, No?' when someone was speaking sort of a polite nothing that showed they were listening to what you said.

Interesante...

 

[Widebrim]

...and when the server comes over and says "are you still working on that"?

I am not working on anything I am eating...go away...

Thank you...