# Verbal crutches I hate **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151 "2003-04-25T17:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/1 "2003-04-25T17:26:18Z")
Whatnot So to speak If you will … ---
**Author:** ![The\_Composer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Composer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Composer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/2 "2003-04-25T17:29:47Z")
Amazing! Awesome! Sphere of influence Like, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/3 "2003-04-25T17:33:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iceman866 \* > \*\* > Awesome! > \*\* Not a big Jeff Gordon fan? ---
**Author:** ![UES\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@UES\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UES_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/4 "2003-04-25T17:34:10Z")
Needless to say… then why the hell are you going to say it anyway?!? ---
**Author:** ![smam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/46a35a/32.png) [@smam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/5 "2003-04-25T17:46:21Z")
quite literally as in " I quite literally finish my shift in half an hour " And I think, oh I am so glad you said literally there because if you just said “I finish my shift in half an hour” I would taken that to mean that you really have 9 hours left to do. NOT!! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/6 "2003-04-25T18:02:35Z")
At the end of the day… I’m like, totally, y’know. ---
**Author:** ![UES\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@UES\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UES_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/7 "2003-04-25T18:02:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by smam \* > \*\*quite literally > > as in " I quite literally finish my shift in half an hour " > > And I think, oh I am so glad you said literally there because if you just said “I finish my shift in half an hour” I would taken that to mean that you really have 9 hours left to do. NOT!! \*\* I also hate it when people use _literally_ when they mean _virtually_, as in “I’m literally starving to death.” Umm, no, you’re not. ---
**Author:** ![RAWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@RAWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RAWDuke)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/8 "2003-04-25T18:08:14Z")
Um, basically, I um can’t stand it basically, when um, people overuse the work, um, basically. ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/9 "2003-04-25T18:14:41Z")
You Know… NO I DON"T KNOW… if I DID I wouldn’t ASK! ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/10 "2003-04-25T18:18:42Z")
So I was thinking… ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/11 "2003-04-25T18:23:17Z")
_Essentially_ drives me insane since two guys I work with both use this word to vomit-inducing levels. _In a nutshell_ and _the bottom line_ have become increasingly irksome to me. _Where the rubber meets the road_ gives me visions of someone tossing a used condom out their car window and onto the street. I’ll second _basically_ as one of my pet-peeve words. While _whatnot_ doesn’t really bother me, _what-have-you_ does. It just sounds so awkward when used in a sentence: “The Smith’s are selling books, clothes, tools and what-have-you at their yard sale this weekend.” ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/12 "2003-04-25T18:27:50Z")
“Are you busy now?” and “What’s on your plate today?” Both are boss-speak for “Don’t plan on going home tonight - I’ve got a big project for you.” Last week, I anwered the “plate” question with “leftover meatloaf and pasta salad.” I think her brain blew a small fuse. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/13 "2003-04-25T18:29:33Z")
“Like” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/14 "2003-04-25T18:35:23Z")
Oh and _any_ of those bloody PowerBusiness buzzphrases. Be Here Now ---
**Author:** ![jellen92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@jellen92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellen92)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/15 "2003-04-25T18:42:52Z")
“Think out of the box” or anything where the word “networking” ties in… “Like, you know?” Anything corporate used in a casual setting makes me want to hurl. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/16 "2003-04-25T18:43:37Z")
A lot of the people (drones) where I work say, “\Why don’t you go ahead\ and do…” and it drives me up a wall. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/17 "2003-04-25T18:45:51Z")
Duh, my apologies. I was trying to bold some of the text in the previous post, but obviously failed. Plz pardon. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/18 "2003-04-25T18:50:19Z")
IRREGARDLESS I know it’s a word - I looked it up on Merriam-Webster, but it’s soooo redundant! ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/19 "2003-04-25T18:59:12Z")
“It’s like,” “Um, well, um” “You know,” “Like, yeah” “You know what I’m saying” Aaaaaggghhhhh!!! I admit I don’t have perfect verbal habits, but some people just go WAY overboard. I went to my childbirth classes when I was pregnant with my first son exactly one time and one time only because the instructor was absolutely incapable of uttering a single sentence without including at least two of the above “crutches”. By the time I left, my palms were bloody from clenching my fists so tightly in tense simmering rage. Like, you know? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/20 "2003-04-25T19:12:36Z")
_per se_ **smam** and **UES guy** my cousin has to be physically restrained if someone near her says something along the lines of, “That movie was so good I was _literally_ glued to my seat.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151.md?page=2)