Like

MothballsWallet

It's a verbal tic in Coventry, even people who were born here noticed it.

jackomdj

My 11 year old does it. I interrupt her and say "so it wasn't really".

Eg
Daughter "she was, like, eating an apple"
Me "so she wasn't really eating an apple, what was she eating"

Repeat, repeat, repeat.... She does correct herself sometimes before I can interrupt.

dontone

I hate it.
I was once in the Ladies in the Paris hotel in Vegas, and two lasses were in the cubicle next to me. The conversation they had went like this....
'So, like Todd got in touch, and he was like, ok, whatever, like we'll meet up'
'Like totally, are you like, serious?'
'Like yeah, totally'
'Wow, like so you are going to like, meet?'
'like yeah!!'

I came out of that lav with an IQ 20 points lower than what I had before I went in.
I noticed that a lot of British kids are doing it now. Then again, we do seem to adopt a lot of American nonsense just lately.

Artytarty

All the above plus people who call it a "draw" when it's a drawer!

easterbunni

Artytarty wrote: »

All the above plus people who call it a "draw" when it's a drawer!

"for sale chester draw's"!


:eek:

MidlandsGlory

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

My pet hate is when an answer to a question is started with 'So'

Thank God! I thought it was just me going loopy!!

I spend a lot of time on the road so listen to a lot of chat on the radio.

The amount of official spokespersons, doctors, experts always start their answer 'so, we believe that the reason for...' every single answer!!!

Robisere

dontone wrote: »

I hate it.
I was once in the Ladies in the Paris hotel in Vegas, and two lasses were in the cubicle next to me. The conversation they had went like this....
'So, like Todd got in touch, and he was like, ok, whatever, like we'll meet up'
'Like totally, are you like, serious?'
'Like yeah, totally'
'Wow, like so you are going to like, meet?'
'like yeah!!'

I came out of that lav with an IQ 20 points lower than what I had before I went in.
I noticed that a lot of British kids are doing it now. Then again, we do seem to adopt a lot of American nonsense just lately.

It's not an Americanism: it is "Estuary English" and has spread from Essex across the country.

dontone

Robisere wrote: »

It's not an Americanism: it is "Estuary English" and has spread from Essex across the country.

I don't care what it is, it was annoying.
I had to go back to my hotel room and lay down for an hour. It gave me a headache..... 'like, totally' :mad:

NBLondon

Robisere wrote: »

It's not an Americanism: it is "Estuary English" and has spread from Essex across the country.

It's a dated Americanism... Shaggy (Scooby-doo's pal not the musician) was using it in the 60s - and he got it from the beatniks in the late 50s. The more repetitive use of "like" every third or fourth word started in early 80s California with the Valley Girls and then spread into general American youthspeak and then to the UK.

It's different of course from "like" as a sentence finisher, where it stands for "Are you still understanding me?" e.g. "I was ganning doon the chippie, like". Which again can be irritating to a hearer not used to it but becomes invisible when all in a group have that regional peculiarity. [See also - "so it is", "So he did" etc. in some Northern Irish voices.]