Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
Verbal Tic
17Mar2005 Filed under: ObservationsAs long as I’m discussing verbal tics (see literally/figuratively below), I have to out my own abused phrases:
• Beginning sentences with “You know, it’s funny…” and then going on to say something that A) the listener doesn’t know and B) isn’t funny.
• “Right.” I say this all the time when I’m listening to people. Unfortunately it’s confusing because people think I already know what they’re telling me.
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7 Responses to “Verbal Tic”
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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the mighty jimbo
March 17th, 2005 at 10:07 am
guilty of both of those.
Ivy
March 17th, 2005 at 10:09 am
There is this “right” I like to call the Brooklyn Right. Everybody in Brooklyn, from your Hipsters to your Domincan grandmas use it. It’s an affirmation, a question, a call for agreement, can be used to express exasperation, anything. In Sex in the City when Lucy Liu is on and Samantha is trying to get her as a client, LL is talking about homegirls and does the most perfect Brooklyn Right. My boy is from CO and speaks exclusively in West Coast hippie slang and he busted it out last night. It’s the only East Coast thing I have ever heard him say. Everybody pronnounces it the same way and we all over-use it.
Ariel
March 17th, 2005 at 10:13 am
Ah yes, I am familiar with the Brooklyn Right! My favorite usage it is when someone expresses outrage (”That’s so fucked up” Answer: “Right?!”).
Nikki
March 17th, 2005 at 11:26 am
I use the “rightrightright” with a head nod to mean, yes I know this part, move the story along to your point. This might be rude, I’ll have to ask someone today.
tlc
March 17th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
You totally do that “Right” thing! My ex does it too. I say “Yeah” way more than I mean to. I always think it more polite and proper to say “Yes.”
Alison
March 19th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
I realized a few weeks ago that I inherited a vocal tic from my mother - I didn’t notice it came from her until I heard her use it, and then I was all, “oh my god, THAT’S where I get it from!” Anyway, if I’m telling a story and part of that story involves someone talking, but what they said isn’t specifically important to the story, I say “yada yada yada, bla bla bla”. Here’s an example: “So I went to pick up Sue at the store, and we were in the car, and we were just talking, you know yada yada yada bla bla bla and then out of the blue she dropped the bomb that she’s getting married to a man she’s never met in person from Argentina!”
I also use, “and I was all…” or, “then he was all…” way too much. See above.
Therese, Air's mom
March 21st, 2005 at 10:35 am
That “Right” response does drive me nuts sometimes, I must admit. I sounds like you already know what I’m saying and doesn’t seem open to the unknown of the information or story I’m passing along. I enjoyed reading these comments and seeing that it is a common colloquialism–guess its not in my circle of friends. Good for you for examining these kinds of language patterns and getting more conscious about them! If ya need a rote response to let someone know you are listening, maybe a better one would be “interesting……” As for picking up these kinds of things from your parents, I do believe Ariel picked up “and blah blah blah” from me, very similar to the “yada yada yada” metioned above. This is a good way to skip the boring details of a story, which I frankly find quite useful and wish more people would use it and ‘get to the point.”