It’s said that Shakespeare used around 17,677 different words in his writings. About one-tenth of those words, somewhere around 1,700, had never been seen before. Little Willie Shakespeare just made them up. And these aren’t obscure words that you’ve never heard before. You’ve probably used some of them today and not even realized that they first came from the pen of the Bard of Avon.Some words that Shakespeare invented: critical, gust, hint, countless, castigate, majestic, laughable, hurry and courtship. How would we describe some bloggers if he didn’t give us rant? And I’d like to personally thank him for one of my favorites: zany. And another that I’m a big fan of: undress.
We use some of those words so often that they’re critical (see?) to our language.
Of course Shakespeare isn’t the only one who has influenced the language. Ninety percent of the words he used were invented by someone else. So I realize that the way we speak and write is constantly changing. Languages evolve by adding new words, losing others, and finding new meanings and ways to use words and phrases. I get it.
However, for some reason that makes it no less irritating to me to hear how some words and phrases are used.
I’ve noticed over the past couple of years that the words really and seriously have become exclamations when used alone, instead of questions. And they’re never spoken in response to words, but instead are used when responding to actions. So when my youngest son spills the tea when he’s pouring it into his glass, my oldest daughter cries out, “Really!” Although if I wanted to properly punctuate it I’d write “Really!?” since it’s part exclamation, and part question.
A quick check of the Oxford English Dictionary and Thesaurus.com show no relation between really and seriously, but they’re used interchangeably. If a seriously/really overuser hails a cab and a guy steps in front at the last minute and sits in the cab, the overuser is just as likely to exclaim “Really!?” as “Seriously!?” I suppose it’s just an expression of disbelief, but if you want to annoy those who overuse either expression, it’s fun to respond to their question.
“Really!?”
“No, pretend!”
Or, “Seriously!?”
“No, I’m kidding.”
Just be sure to duck because overusers aren’t likely to see the humor in your reply.
Much to my delight, “Really!?” and “Seriously!?” will eventually wane in popularity. That seems to be what happened with “I know, right?” and the shortened, simpler, “Right?”
Around this time last year it became almost impossible to have a conversation with some people without their response to every sentence being “I know, right?”
“I think this salsa is too spicy.”
“I know, right?”
Or, “I wish that cheesecake was an acceptable breakfast food.”
“I know, right?”
At some point, the “I know” disappeared from the phrase, and it just became “Right?”
“McDonald’s hamburgers smell better than they taste.”
“Right?”
I’ve looked for differences between “I know, right?” and “Right?” but they seem to be used interchangeably, and they’re almost never necessary. If someone says something I agree with, I prefer, “I think so too,” or “You’re right.” No need to respond to my statement with a question. I just told you what I think, why are you asking me if what I think is actually what I think?
“I know, right?” is almost as fun to mock as “Really!?” and “Seriously!?” though. When my oldest daughter employs “I know, right?”—which, in her defense, she does much less frequently than she used to—I love nothing more than to respond in my best valley girl voice with “IK,R?”
Sounded out that’s “I K comma R question mark” The fun of that almost outweighs the annoyance.
I feel like there’s more to say on this topic, but I like to keep these posts somewhat short, so I’ll continue next time with part two. However, if you read that last sentence carefully you’ll get a preview of the next annoying phrase on my radar. And if none of this makes sense to you, then you’re the person using these phrases too much.
Seriously.
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