How to Cope With the Most Overused Word Like In the Entire English Language

Selfie, twerk, project, robust - and 16 other overused words of 2013.

Admit it, whether you regard yourself as a scholar of linguistics or a self proclaimed language snob - you’ve, at least once, crossed over to the dark side and used the word “like” in a sentence where it, like, doesn’t belong. Narrowly escaping the grammar police, you catch yourself, cringe and promise never again! This usage of “like” is known as a slang interjection. This form as well as the adverbial use of "like" dates back a lot further than you might think. Many people believe Moon Unit Zappa and her 1982 single Valley Girl are responsible for popularizing this usage of "like" precisely at the moment Ms. Zappa sang, “It’s like, barf me out.” The sociolect that the song celebrates, Valspeak, originates in Southern California.  In reality, the slang use of the word “like” has been a part of popular culture dating as far back as 1928 and a cartoon in the "New Yorker" that depicts two women discussing a man’s workspace with a text that reads, “What’s he got – an awfice?” “No, he’s
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"That is sooooo ironic." This sentence is used frequently — and usually incorrectly — in American English. Often the word “ironic” is misused to remark on a coincidence, such as "This is the third time today we’ve run into each other. How ironic." It is also mistakenly used to describe something out of the ordinary or unusual: "Yesterday was a beautiful, warm day in November. It was really ironic." And, unfortunately, it is sometimes used to simply emphasize something interesting. For example, "Ironically, it was the best movie I’ve seen all year!" We submit that ironic might be the most abused word in the English language. Even Alanis Morissette was called out for being too loose with the word in her 1995 hit "Ironic." The critics were so sharp that Morissette was forced to explain that she wasn’t trying to make every lyric in the song "technically ironic." So, what does the word really mean? And how do you make a proper ironic statement? An ironic remark conveys a meaning that is the
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These words tell us everything we need to know about the commenter and let us skip the post, safe in the knowledge that we're proving our childhood lessons wrong and getting smarter by not reading something.

Here's a handy compendium of additional crutch words, those verbal (and sometimes written) pause words that we just can't seem to help using, even as we know we shouldn't. You know?
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Some of these everyday phrases make the speaker sound unintelligent because they lack originality, some indicate poor grammar, and others just connote mental laziness. But they all share (at least) one common thread: I hate them all. (Author&#8217;s Note: You may also enjoy installments II and III of the Overused Phrased Dumb People Say trilogy)... <a href="http://www.chicagonow.com/lists-that-actually-matter/2011/05/11-overused-phrases-dumb-people-say/" class="more-link">Read more &raquo;</a>