Verbal tics that tick you off

I've not once heard anyone say "Ye, Ye, Ye, Yeah."

People who say "buh - in" for button. It's clearly a desperate need for attention.

Sooooo........

Sooo.........

So

Not sure it's a 'tic' but people who can't have a conversation without using "literally."

It is literally raining so hard.

I'm literally exhausted.

There were literally people everywhere.

I'm literally starving.

This is literally ridiculous.

R1 You travel in a rarified strata.

GirlLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

People who constantly repeat themselves - a couple YouTubers I follow do this. "I've never had a problem here. Never had a problem."

Used to have a boss who muttered "you know" countless times when she spoke. I used to count them, and some of them went by super fast, so one had to pay attention. I mentioned this to other people, and it became a game between us to count them as she crop dusted the air with her "you knows" all day. She still does it on her social media posts as well.

Seriously? Seriously.

I mean I mean I mean I mean

Ay, Dios Mío!!!!!

[quote] People who say "buh - in" for button. It's clearly a desperate need for attention.

They’re from Lonk Guyland.

"Like, you know, go to like the mall or a Target or whatever, and get like, a ton of super cute clothes and it's, like so funny- just run out the store and don't pay! The cops don't even care, you know! It was amazing!"

r13 Like, for real

Yeah daddy, yeah daddy, yeah daddy

I have an acquaintance who adds unnecessary “a” or “an” before certain words and phrases. For example, he’d say “I saw a news today about…” or “My account earned a compound interest”.

Billy two times, Billy two times

My sister says “kwotter” instead of “quarter” and it pisses me off. She knows better and never pronounced it that way most of her life.

^ I know a MAGA guy who talks like that

R1 amazingly, just because something isn’t in your experience doesn’t mean that it never happened.

r20 "amazingly"

Yikes

100%, instead of "honestly" or "completely".

Bro, which is the new 'dude'.

It must be an Urban thing.

R1 Not even Devo?

Whatever...

Woosh R21!

"You know what I mean?" and "Does that make sense?" after every other sentence.

will do something

is/are going to do something

the going to "future"

85% of speakers now exclusively use "gonna"

I'm gonna. We're gonna.

I was ok with 33%-50% frequency - which would cover informal speech.

I hear gonna in formal register settings all the time and it sticks in my craw.

Incredible turned into amazing over 20 years ago, how about a new one?

I get annoyed with "do you know what I mean?" Sometimes I want to say, no, I don't know what you mean.

Acronyms uttered as a word or letter by letter.

1. L-M-A-O said as La-Mow needs to die in a grease fire

2. I recently heard a Gen Z say the letters I-M-O as in "in my opinion" just stopvfor the love of all that is holy ✋️

sammich

libary

R2 - that’s called a glottal break - and it’s popular with shallow young chicks in NJ. Sounds revolting.

“Like I said . . . (repeat)”

“I’m just saying.”

Twenty-three skidoo

Gen Z loves affirming something you are saying with ‘Ye, Ye, Ye, Yeah.’ I noticed Sophie Thatcher does it in interviews if she has a good rapport with the interviewer. I’ve seen it in several others of her generation also.

“My daughter is FAT, no offense!”

Using “stopvfor” in the middle of sentences.

R39 fuck you gramps, we all have to make due with no edit button.

People who randomly insert Spanish words into sentences, even though they're the whitest person alive.

[quote]Incredible turned into amazing over 20 years ago, how about a new one?

R29 "Awesome" belongs somewhere in that mix.

I mean, I agree with you, R10. I mean, it drives me crazy. I mean, when athletes and reality stars use it, I mean, excessively in interviews. I mean, I'm just telling you what happened.....

¿How you say cucumber r41?

R2, there's a Tv reporter who says Manhattan as Man-HA-in. If I recall, this is called a Glottal Stop. Can a Speech Therapist here confirm?

Judge Judy goes ballistic when anyone before her says "Basically." "I don't like filler words" Wish I could blow a fog horn when I hear "basically, "like" and "ya know"

R41 announcers on NPR speak perfect English. When a Spanish word is in the copy, they switch to a dialect. Paris is never heard as Paree and we don't hear Milano. What's with the affect?

I ran across a video recently with "like" once per sentence (or so it seemed).

Oops! It's JIMMY TWO TIMES

Jenna Bush Hager pronounces all her T’s as D’s. I.e. “Tell us about the book you’ve ridden.”

[quote] The ever-increasing number of people who affirm with "Ye, Ye, Ye, Yeah".

He said ye, ye, yeah, she said ye, ye yeah, we said ye, ye, ye, YEAH!

What’s with the repetition of responses? Do these people use that for emphasis? As mentioned above, I’ve heard a lot of “yeah-yeah-yeah.” I’ve also heard these idiots say:

“Gimme, gimme, gimme!”

“Right, right, right!”

“Yo, yo, yo, yo!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Bro, bro, bro, bro…"

Speak in complete sentences, drop the slang, and don’t waste my time. So thugish and trashy.

The three "yeahs" is annoying as fuck. When I hear it in a conversation, I say that they need to repeat it because I did not hear it.

R37 R53 Yes, I hear it everywhere, so it's puzzling that R1 and several others claim not to have heard it once.

Fuck you R40 - it’s “make do”, not “make due”, you idiot.

..Ssooooooooo...

R52 Rih Rih Right!

Gay guys in their late 20s and 30s and 40s who add a full syllable to sentences, as in:

“Is that supposed to happen-nuh?”

“Are you serious-suh?”

“This is fire-ruh!”

*side-eyeing you, Elliott Norris*

R58, that reminds me of who say "nuh-uh". That's grating.

BarTHelona!

EYEbiTHa!

R33 R45 Right, glottal stop, most commonly where the stop replaces a 't' in the middle of a word. Best known in the Cockney accent, for words like wau'uh for water.

Enough with the glottal stop. We all understand it now.

Wha'eva you say. guv'na.

I've already had "Period!" to the back teeth. It seems to have replaced the mic drop gesture, but those who use it do it INCESSANTLY.

R55 OK true but you're still a cunt.

“Knowwhutimsayin’?”

A woman I work with adds "...and whatnot" to every third sentence.

It's really become too much to bear.

R65. I know it probably goes way back, but it was Sean Spicer who introduced it into the lexicon for me. I hear him in my head. Period!

Period!

More contestants on Jeopardy are now saying "hunerd" instead of "hundred". They seem to be less intelligent than their peers of earlier decades. Last week, it was a triple stumper when they provided a picture and a clue of Ella Fitzgerald. None of them knew it. We could devote a whole thread to simple questions none of them knew.

R2 Similar to when people say "fiddy" instead of "fifty", or "dis" instead of "this." It's as if they're deliberately talking like a four year-old to sound cool, or from "the streets." Rap music is mainly to blame for a lot of it.

[quote] All right, all right, all right.

Years ago, when I first began working in Tech, a developer I worked with would say "dub dub dub" instead of "WWW" when talking about a specific web address/URL. It bothered me. He might as well have been leaning against a tractor with a long blade of grass dangling from his lip. I still hear people use it, occasionally.

People who excessively enunciate each syllable of the word "ever"—often in a drawn-out, performative tone reminiscent of Valley Girl speech—e.g., "This is the worst day EV-ERrrr."

Em, em, em, em.

The word tic really ticks me off.

So does tick for that matter.

We are misunderstood creatures. Stop persecuting us. We exist. We take up space.

My husband cannot stand the way Karina Longworth over-enunciates every syllable on her podcast, 'You Must Remember This', it drives him crazy. He won’t stay in the room if I’m listening. I don’t love it either, but I like the podcast enough to deal with it.

Sometimes, though, especially when I want to bug him. I’ll say something like *TiT·il·LaTe* with extra care, just to watch him squirm.

R77 So cute. Until the Lyme disease kicks in.

Then I’m even cuter, right r79?

RIGHT, r79???

Burnt matchhead at the ready. Oh well, had to be done.

Sort of. Kind of. "It's sort of like being a kind of sort of thing that I used to sort of see in my head."

Karina Longworth has a very artificial way of speaking when she's doing her podcast, r78. I checked out her podcast after hearing her as a guest on another podcast. I lasted about 3 minutes.

Honestly....

You ask someone a yes or no question and they reply with..."yeah...." regardless of whether they are about to say yes or no.

- would you like to get a coffee?

- yeah, so I could but there's this thing I gotta do, soon.

- ok so you can't get coffee then?

- yeah, no.

R85, or worse, that fucking nnnyeaaahhh. Starts like a toddler whining 'nooo', ends like a porn sigh, hhh.

Is it yes? Is it no? Grow the fuck up.

[quote][R41] announcers on NPR speak perfect English. When a Spanish word is in the copy, they switch to a dialect. Paris is never heard as Paree and we don't hear Milano. What's with the affect?

You may find it annoying, but it's not a tic. Bilingual Latinos often do that, I've noticed that on my local news channels. You don't hear Paree or Milano because bilingual Italians aren't as common in American news media.

[quote] Bilingual Latinos often do that, I've noticed that on my local news channels.

This is Miranda Veracruz de la Jolla Cardinal!

Hey guys…

You guys….

Ohmygod guys…

Influencers. Can’t stand them.

"Let's get into it"

"To be honest..." or "If I'm being honest..."

What? I asked you a question hoping you'd blow smoke up my ass? You think I want you to be dishonest?

Sorry, I disagree with r91. I have heard that silly logic before. The reason people say "can I be honest" is because in polite or professional society you are NOT supposed to blurt out your rude opinion before someone asks for it. It's tacky and low brow. Besides, just because you have an opinion, does not mean it's correct or worth listening to.

“POOPOO!!”

[quote]Not sure it's a 'tic' but people who can't have a conversation without using "literally."

'Literally' seems to have replaced the word 'like' over the past few years. I don't know if that's good or bad, but I don't hear 'like' peppered throughout a sentence.

I've noticed every conversation I have with black men, they end every sentence with 'You know what I'm sayin' ?' Even at work, they can tell me the most simple thing, and end with 'You know what I'm sayin' ?'

Just yesterday morning, I was scheduling coverage for lunch breaks in my department (I work in a health facility). There's one handsome young man (Andre) who also happens to be one of the best on my staff - patients and coworkers adore him. He's very smart, hard working, and can converse about anything. So yesterday, I asked him what time he wanted to take his lunch so I can arrange coverage. He responds, "I'll go at one o'clock. You know what I'm sayin' ?"

I was tempted to say, 'No - you're being very vague, can you explain that to me in greater detail ?' and that would give me more time to gaze into his gorgeous eyes and beautiful smile, but I responded, "Got it. Thanks! I have you down for one. " (Damn, Andre - do you have to be so cute ?)

R93 As in Melania Trump, "Dee secret to a happy marriage is to neva let your hozzband see you POOPOO!"

R94, the "white" version of that is "RIGHT?" That movie sucked RIGHT? I told you this bar was cool RIGHT?

Or is some cases "Alright" used a lot at the end of every sentence. "this is how I did it, ALRIGHT? Meet you at ShopRite ALRIGHT? It seems to be an East Coast tic.

Yesterday I overheard someone in a restaurant say "without further adieu"

Was it an isolated incident with a Hyacinth Bucket type? Or has this become a thing?

When I left the restaurant I smiled at them and said "au revoir" to one and "adieu" to the loudmouth.

This was in Toronto.

People who say -" in theory" arghhh

[quote]All right, all right, all right.

That's what I love about these high school girls. I keep gettin' older but they stay the same age.

R96 I honestly haven't heard that from the white males I talk to. Maybe I'll have to pay more attention, but I don't recall hearing that in the past.

At least straight white fat guys don't say "Sweet!" every second word anymore.

I've lived outside the U.S. long enough now that it's more often than not startling to hear Americans speak. Their language is stuffed full of familiarity, the use of "gonna", the filler words to add void interjection or reaction, the right?"s and "amiright?"s, the "winning" competitive language of sports/business/military worlds. It can be a bit of work not to get lost in how rich is Manu people's speech in tics, jargon, slang, buiness-speakand extreme familiarity.

Manu is rich?

r100 I hear it all the time at work, right? So, we're all on the same page, right? Ok, let's schedule for Monday afternoon, right? I know, right? I know, right?

I'm like. She was like. He was like. They were like. I'm like, for real? She's like, yes! He's like, no way. I'm like, for real!

Yeah, I got into the habit of saying “yeah” at the beginning of every sentence, drawing it out in a resigned tone

R105 During the pandemic, I took advantage of the situation and I ended a decade long friendship with a woman in her 40s because every conversation I ever had with her was exactly as you just wrote. I couldn't take it any more - within minutes of meeting her for dinner, my head would spin. I just couldn't continue.

She's all......and then Im all...... and then She's all.....

R106 I can't believe the number of field reporters on television and the radio who start sentences this way. And they're journalists !

Dude....Sweet!

[quote] She's all......and then Im all...... and then She's all....

He loves, and she loves, and they love, so why can't you love and I love, too?

"In this moment..."

The other night at a restaurant, the young Zoomer man asked my friend and me if we were going to have dessert. He then rattled off what they had, but instead of saying 'Tonight we have...' he started with 'In this moment, we have...'

Earlier today, I had to call my credit card company to ask about different offers they have on balance transfers which I received in the mail. The young girl on the other end said, "In this moment we have a zero-percent balance transfer..."

r93 You seem trashy.

R97, I'm assuming that you understand that the saying is "without further ado", as in "without anymore bother or fanfare"....and that this French person just couldn't resist saying 'ado' incorrectly. If so, that is a weird person for sure....and I would be surprised if that is a common tic.

R94, "know what I'm sayin' " has been a Black thing for at least since the late 80s when I was living in Brooklyn. Every Black man I knew, or listened to in public ended sentences with that. I have no idea how this began, but I also found it a bit overly habitual and annoying. I would think to myself "Yes, yes, I know what you're saying. Why are you concerned about this?"

[quote] They seem to be less intelligent than their peers of earlier decades. Last week, it was a triple stumper when they provided a picture and a clue of Ella Fitzgerald. None of them knew it.

THIS is evidence that they're less intelligent???

Honey, you're [italic]aging,[/italic] and as a result, your pop cultural references are aging with you.

When you were their age, if you had been provided a photo of Bessie Smith or Ruth Etting you would have not had known who it was, and the eldergays back then would have been contemptuous of your ignorance in the same way.

Vocal fry. It’s still with us, and it makes my ears bleed.

"and how is everything tasting....?"

R114 Next time a hunky black man says something to me and then asks, 'You know what I'm sayin' ?' at the end, I will attempt to answer him one of two ways (depending on how well I know him) :

1. No, I was totally distracted by your muscled chest and arms straining that tee shirt you're wearing.

2. No, I would understand better if you took that shirt off.

I have had people at various workplaces say things like "Word!" as an affirmation to a statement being made. As in "word to your mother" in old school rap songs, or an abbreviated version of "word up!" as in the song by Cameo. Most of the time it is uttered by whites. Yes, cancel me for this, but I assume this is something "borrowed" from black/hip-hop "culture."

Like, like, like

R119, word? What century is this?

'WHAT HAPPENED ?' in place of 'What did you say ?'

“Too small”

An expression not a tic, but I've grown tired of "I appreciate you".

"I hear you"

“I feel you”

"Heard"

"Saving space for you"

"Give it up for..." is fine in the right context. But some people should just not say it. You know it when you hear it.

R119 word

"And then I says..."

"...you know?"

Over and over it goes.

Not for nuttin', but...

Alls I know

Who all

Anyways....

Alls is not a tick R134.

The alls-construction is part of the dialects of Midwestern American English. The data they analyzed came from speakers from Southern/Southeastern Ohio and Kentucky. It has also been claimed to be found in the San Francisco Bay area.

R136 To be fair, most of these are not tics, except to the extent that they tick someone off.

[quote] The alls-construction is part of the dialects of Midwestern American English.

I also don't like positive anymore.

When did 'Hey' replace 'hello' or 'hi' ? I'm so tired of 'hey' and the response is 'hey'.

R139 "Hey" became a common greeting in the English language around the 12th century. It was originally used to attract attention and was later used as a way of admonishing or grabbing someone's attention. The term acquired its newer meaning as a salutation during the early 20th century.

How do you do R139, remember when that was considered proper English? Your "hello and Hi" screams trashy lower class.

"How do you do?" is a most useful greeting. It's always correct. If it's in especially informal circumstances you can follow it up immediately with something chummier, but if said with a second's direct attention to the other person it's always received well. And of course it's perfect for long reception lines and occasions where they may be the only words exchanged.

"How do you do ?" has morphed into "how ya doin' ?" when it's one-on-one, or "Hows you guys doin?" when a server approaches your table of two or more.

Tweety-bird speech impediments. Especially when the speaker is really angry or frustrated.

“Why awen’t you taking me sewiouswy!?”

It’s very hard not to laugh.

r143 I've never once heard "Hows you guys doin?" In which region might one hear this? I do hear "How're you guys doin?" often.

[quote] Tweety-bird speech impediments. “Why awen’t you taking me sewiouswy!?”

You wouldn't like her, r144:

Not a tick, but when English speakers can't for the life of them pronounce French words. Example: fr: "timbre" like eng: "timber". It's okay not quite hit it. But if someone doesn't try at all, it is immensely off-putting for me.

"It's okay not quite hit it" r147

Women's voices that makes them sound chirpy.

Eg. Becky Hays on America's Test Kitchen

Nobody in this century has ever or will ever say How Do You Do

“My man”

R150 Howdy Do & Howdy Do Ma'am are my go to salutations, sometime preceded by Well.. I operate a pet food and supplies business.

A woman I work with has a habit of saying "duh duh duh" as a pause whenever she's speaking and has to think. She was doing a training recently, and I had to hear that "duh duh duh" about a hundred times. About 10 minutes into the training, it was all I could hear.

R143 says "How do you do ?" has morphed into "how ya doin"?

This is patently ridiculous. Or, perhaps African American Vernacular English (AAVE).

How do you do is said ONE time, upon first meeting someone. It is never repeated to that person afterwards. The correct response is "How do YOU do."

Got it? Sheesh, the feral twats in society today.

"How are you doing" might replace "How do you do", if the speaker is complete trash.

But "how are you doing?" is a completely ok casual greeting to someone you do know. SOMEONE YOU ALREADY KNOW.

How do I do what?

Ow ya going mayt? Is what I heard most often from Aussie males that I encountered outside the workplace in my time there. Whether I knew them or not. I thought it was charming, engaging, and generally a very friendly greeting.

^^spellcheck changed goin' to going.

There’s a girl on our local college station that says the word “you” it seems after every fifth word! She isn’t getting anything out of college clearly.

“…Jus’ sayin’…” at the end of a sentence. It reeks of limited vocabulary and ghetto insecurity.

"Man Alive!" is often used in online comments, where someone wants to grandstand. It's always gross.

I have an 8 year old nephew who uses the word "literally" all the time. I've tried to point out he's using it wrong, but he says all his friends do it, too.

You need to slap the shit out of your nephew to break him up the habit.

I've heard a couple black and brown folks have issue with white people using the word "Woke" in any context.

My very white-speak understanding (from hearing from them) is that the word Woke comes from Black Slang, as a way to signal that they are all awake and aware of the shenanigans of white people in government and corporations, and especially police, historically and through to present times. We are "Woke" to that.

The fact that this became part of the white owned newsmedia, politicians and pundits is further insult to injury.

Don't use "woke" folks.

R163 Could also be, because 90% of the white people using "woke", are doing so to disparage it. DeSantis being the worst offender.

“Heard!”

Oh god that Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah is fucking annoying! I recently went to see an allergist and her nurse or whatever, the girl who takes your temp and blood pressure, and would say that. I found it unnerving.

R166 I know, and those who adopt it use it habitually. But yet apparently 38 DL patrons are fortunate enough to have never heard it said.

I love Brits but could do without “Brilliant!” My friend had a British coworker who exclaimed it over and over and over again while on the phone.

She also asked him if he wanted a “cuppa” so I assume she came from the Stereotype District north of London.

New Yorkers, particularly in the outer boroughs, who say “fuck” every other word.

Keep it classy, Staten Island.