Grugger’s Way

Words and Phrases that ought to be retired

I can’t help it.  This post is about lazy language.  Are people getting too lazy to think and compose their thoughts into speech without the crutches?  I think it is getting worse too.  I used to think it was just teenagers and athletes who relied upon the crutch words…the fillers that mean nothing but take up time and space while the speaker is trying to come up with a thought of his or her own…but recently I have heard educated speakers, broadcasters, professors and especially local television weather forecasters who constantly rely on this “dribble.”

So…here is my list (AS OF TODAY), of overused, overworked, tired out, trite and meaningless words and phrases that OUGHT TO BE RETIRED!

“Actually”
“Out there”
“At the End of the Day”
“Like”  (should be listed twice)
“I mean” (this could be listed several times, and connected to all the others)
“You know”
“Having Said That”
“That, having been said”
“Whatever…, What-Ever!”  (Yes, there are a couple of different ways to say this.)

Typical athlete’s interview response–first sentence:

“I think, like, you know, at the end of the day-whatever!”

We could blame the schools, the school teachers, television, the entire music industry, the entire celebrity scene, pop-stars, teen actors, pulp magazines, the internet, internet social networking, TEXTING, or just about any other aspect of modern society.  I would hope that folks would become more aware of the way they speak as they get older, but I now hear 40 and 50 and even 60-somethings who start out virtually every sentence with “I mean.”  HOW PATHETIC.  I have no solutions either.  We just have to live with it I guess.

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