# Verbal tic that's starting to annoy me **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214 "2008-11-11T17:54:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/81 "2015-11-13T19:55:37Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > And the most grating is the woman who cannot speak a sentence that doesn’t begin with “So…” I’m going to try to do better!! :o ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/82 "2015-11-13T20:25:05Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > MY ex husband was given to to saying “_the only thing_ about such and such is…” when there was clearly more than one thing. I retrained him to say “The main thing…” 🙂 That reminds me of [Penrod and Sam](http://www.online-literature.com/tarkington/penrod-and-sam/1/): > [@](#): > > “Well, what is it?” Sam demanded crossly. Penrod’s reiteration of his new-found phrase, “for the main and simple reason”, had been growing more and more irksome to his friend all day, though Sam was not definitely aware that the phrase was the cause of his annoyance. > [@Cisco](#): > > And my mom does the play-by-play but it’s "I sez, and the she sez, and then I sez, and the she sez . . . " My mom does this too, even including, “So I sez hi, and she sez hi, and I sez how are you, and she sez fine…” The thing that is really getting my goat lately is the word “awesome”. It’s an awesome word, but it’s starting to take over the damn world. Count how many times you hear it in a day…if it’s less than fucking fifty I envy you. And the worst of it is, I say it myself! ---
**Author:** ![Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ac8455/32.png) [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Your_Great_Darsh_Face)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/83 "2015-11-14T08:02:10Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Reminds of a minor peeve… > > In my office building, outside the company coffee shop there’s a large professionally produced advertising sign for the coffee purveyed therein, that says it surpasses “any coffee you’ve ever tasted before.” > > “Ever” and “before” both convey the same meaning: your coffee-drinking history up to this point in time. You could remove one word or the other from the sign without changing its meaning in the slightest. > > But it’s probably just me… Yeah, no, there’s another redundancy thing I hear in advertising, along the lines of “No other {product} is {more effective}”. The word “other” is meaningless because any {product} that was {more effective} would have to be _another_ product, it clearly couldn’t be the \*same \*one. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/84 "2015-11-14T11:32:16Z")
Shodan, your post (#65) is sweet. I see what you did at the end there. Back in '08, someone in this thread mentioned an acquaintance who repeats everything he says, but in a whisper. I noticed my 5-year-old son does this sometimes (usually repeating just the last word or two, not the whole sentence), but in specific situations – I think when he’s a little uncertain, either of what he’s saying or of what the reaction will be to what he’s saying. I wondered where he picked up this quirk…until I noticed that I do the same thing sometimes! I’ve probably been doing it for years. Funny how kids can be like mirrors. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/85 "2015-11-14T13:47:28Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > …Fortunately, my communications are always free, completely, from extraneous quirks. Even online. > > Regards, > Shodan Well, there is _one_ thing you do that drives me a little crazy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/86 "2015-11-14T15:52:38Z")
> [@Your\_Great\_Darsh\_Face](#): > > Yeah, no, there’s another redundancy thing I hear in advertising, along the lines of “No other {product} is {more effective}”. The word “other” is meaningless because any {product} that was {more effective} would have to be _another_ product, it clearly couldn’t be the \*same \*one. I’ll see that, and raise you “up to 50% off or more!” That, literally, is completely meaningless. Stop it! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/87 "2015-11-14T16:20:02Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > And don’t say “as an added bonus” unless you’ve mentioned one bonus already!!! grrrr. There is absolutely no reason to assume that “added bonus” implies a secondary (or beyond) bonus. It is a bonus, which is added to the original bonus-less thing. Just like “added sugar” means sugar which is added into food during the production process; whether or not there was sugar before (i.e. in the natural ingredients) is irrelevant. There’s nothing wrong with that construction and you are pedantically hyper-correcting to suggest otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/88 "2015-11-15T04:24:01Z")
So, ummm… I’m worried that my students will, ummm, read this? So yeah, and ummm, start counting my _so_s and _ummm_s. I think it’s my way of saying “Hang in there, kids. As soon as my brain (that’s been over-worked for sixty-some years) catches up I WILL have a point.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/89 "2015-11-15T16:04:12Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > There is absolutely no reason to assume that “added bonus” implies a secondary (or beyond) bonus. It is a bonus, which is added to the original bonus-less thing. Just like “added sugar” means sugar which is added into food during the production process; whether or not there was sugar before (i.e. in the natural ingredients) is irrelevant. There’s nothing wrong with that construction and you are pedantically hyper-correcting to suggest otherwise. But the very definition of bonus is something added. It’s redundant and repetitive to call the first added thing an added bonus. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/90 "2015-11-15T18:06:46Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I noticed recently that the guy in the adjacent cube, who spends a lot of time on the phone, often starts a sentence with “Yeah…no…” > [@Dr.Woo](#): > > My mother in law starts nearly EVERY sentence with the word “no”. There’s no pause that would indicate a comma, she just says the word No as the beginning of every thought. I started reading this not realizing it was a zombie, but never mind. It reminded me of a character on the wonderful Brit sitcom [_The Vicar of Dibley_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vicar_of_Dibley) – I think it was Jim – who couldn’t start any sentence without saying “No no no no no” first. A lot of the scenes were town council meetings where Jim would give his assent to some proposal by saying “No no no no no YES!”. There was a scene where the town council was holding an outdoor concert and unfortunately picked Jim to handle the PA announcements, so the crowd would hear things like “No no no no no parking behind the refreshment tent”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/91 "2015-11-15T18:32:08Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > But the very definition of bonus is something added. It’s redundant and repetitive to call the first added thing an added bonus. A bonus would be anything that isn’t the main benefit. It doesn’t have to be an add-on at all. “I love running, and as a bonus, it’s good for me.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/92 "2015-11-15T20:09:37Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > A bonus would be anything that isn’t the main benefit. It doesn’t have to be an add-on at all. “I love running, and as a bonus, it’s good for me.” Right. See how well that worked without “added”? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/93 "2015-11-15T20:11:09Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Right. See how well that worked without “added”? You said a bonus has to be something added. An added bonus is something added. A bonus can be added or not added. “I love running, and as a bonus, it’s good for me. As an added bonus, I listen to podcasts while I’m running, so I stay well-informed.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/94 "2015-11-15T20:26:38Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You said a bonus has to be something added. An added bonus is something added. A bonus can be added or not added. > > “I love running, and as a bonus, it’s good for me. As an added bonus, I listen to podcasts while I’m running, so I stay well-informed.” Perfect; we’re in agreement. _You have one good thing_ I love running. _You add one thing (a bonus)_ As a bonus, it is good for me. _You add another thing (an added bonus)_ As an added bonus, …I stay well-informed. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/95 "2015-11-15T20:30:47Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Perfect; we’re in agreement. You don’t even understand my argument. “I love running. As an added bonus, I listen to podcasts while I run, so I stay informed.” It’s not inherent to the running. It’s added. That’s a distinct type of bonus. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/96 "2015-11-15T20:54:33Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You don’t even understand my argument. > > “I love running. As an added bonus, I listen to podcasts while I run, so I stay informed.” > > It’s not inherent to the running. It’s added. That’s a distinct type of bonus. If you don’t agree that a bonus is always in addition to something, no, I don’t understand your argument. I would say the sentence formulated does not need the “added”. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/97 "2015-11-16T22:57:28Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > If you don’t agree that a bonus is always in addition to something, no, I don’t understand your argument. I would say the sentence formulated does not need the “added”. I understand what you’re saying. The word “added” in this case means “additional”. You have to already have one bonus in order to have an _additional_ bonus. Otherwise, it’s just a plain old bonus. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214/98 "2015-11-17T15:46:23Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > It was the four-word Texas lunchtime conversation: > > “Jeetyet?” > _“Naw.”_ > “Ya’awntu?” > _“A’ight.”_ Years ago I saw another comic who held up signs with the sayings on them as he said them. Their mealtime conversation went like this (signs in caps): “JAV NUFF DEET?” “JAUNT SMORE?” “Yeah, I’ll have more a them taters.” “Taters? EAR YAR.” Closed the set with a sign that said “PRESHADIT”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-tic-thats-starting-to-annoy-me/472214.md?page=4)