# "I'm, like, ..." -- was it Valley Girls that started that? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2026, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055 "2026-07-31T16:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055/41 "2026-08-03T14:17:51Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > and terror of “work” WORK?! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055/42 "2026-08-03T16:11:27Z")
Maynard practically broke out in hives at the word “work.” The work-allergic beatnik was a standard pop-culture trope, and he played it to the hilt—not that actual beatniks were all lazy bums. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055/43 "2026-08-03T16:23:34Z")
I, like, _like_ “like.” ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055/44 "2026-08-03T17:28:16Z")
I’m a 46-year-old Canadian and I use the word “like” a lot. For me it’s a discourse marker (like our famed “eh”), and I think have often used the word “like” as a bit of a weasel word – to imply that the things I’m saying that follow “like” may not be meant 100% accurately, but that the information I’m giving is a bit roughly or generally stated. OTOH, one of my two best friends, a 62-year-old Californian, dislikes the overuse of “like” by the younger generations. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055/45 "2026-08-03T17:34:49Z")
I watch a lot of reality tv so I hear “like” a lot (it just seems to be pervasive in the speech of the types of people who end up on reality tv). I’ve decided that, to me, it indicates a lack of confidence by the speaker. Both in the means of “hemming and hawing” as @Johanna said, and a plain inability to speak confidently. Young women are particularly prone to lacking confidence when speaking. It’s as if adding “like” puts everything in a metaphorical wrapper that doesn’t require full commitment. It makes me sad to hear people such as @wolfpup’s grad student speaking this way, as I’m sure she has full knowledge of the subject. But just in case she’s wrong, she’s going to add in all those “likes.” In the case of the reality shows, I hear people use it a lot when trying to express their feelings, but they’re not sure if their feelings are valid or how the other person will react, so they lose confidence in what they’re saying and descend into a spiral of “like”… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-like-was-it-valley-girls-that-started-that/1032055.md?page=2)