Is there anything more maddening than hearing a person being interviewed start every sentence with the words 'you know'? You know, why do people do that? You know, I don't know. You know, I think that assuming I know might mean that the interviewee may think I already know what's going to be said. You know, it may be because the same questions get asked by interviewers time and again .
'You Know'
- Thread starter PsychoticEpisode
- Start date
You know, Bin Laden annoys me. You know, I think you can help him. You know , thanks for the pearls of wisdom. You know, not what I was expecting.
you are insecure about yourself.
Talk about BinLaden is just a way to hide that insecurity.
I think they're asking desperately for a dum-dum round right in the, you know - forehead...
That principle guides my every desire to put people out of their misery.
That it would benefit me is merely coincidental.
That principle guides my every desire to put people out of their misery.
That it would benefit me is merely coincidental.
by putting people out of the misery you mean helping them live their lives to the full, right...killJoy?
fully...you mean commit fully your life to benefit every moment of life of others? Help them with chores of daily life. correct?
Yes, Yes...
I want to, you know - mix them a nice cup of "special" tea and all like that there...
by special tea you mean chamomile, green, black tea, sort of a thing, right?
Methinks the words "you know" and 'sometimes' are interchangeable
You know, I agree
I know what you mean, especially when they say "You know, like, um......
you do realise my pose was a dig at tim840 dont you?
that being said it does irritate the hell out of me. Everytime i here "you know" and "like" used in that manner i get pitures of stupid blond yanky cheerleaders in my head. I want to talk to people with brains rather airheads
that being said it does irritate the hell out of me. Everytime i here "you know" and "like" used in that manner i get pitures of stupid blond yanky cheerleaders in my head. I want to talk to people with brains rather airheads
Fraggle Rocker
Staff member
I pay attention to that sort of thing. It seems that "you know" is a specific phrase that people use to cut themselves off when they've lost the thread of what they were trying to say, and start off with a new sentence, on firmer ground. There are other interjections of that nature that are signals of insecurity amid a hostile or socially or organizationally superior audience. People who are confident and just can't think as fast as they talk are often the ones who just say "uhhhhhh."
Saul Bellow, one of the most articulate American writers and a Nobel laureate, was just dreadful to listen to in a live lecture. He was so careful about phrasing his sentences perfectly that he had to stop and think after every third word, and just stood there at the lectern going "uhhhhhhh."
I thought for a minute you were referring to the 1970s American interjection. "I'm, like, coming down the stairs, and my mom, like, sees me and she goes (another annoying Valley Girl expression) 'Why aren't you in school?' and I'm, like, 'Mom, there's a big sale at the mall today,' and then we, like, have this big fight, and my dad, like, walks in..."
"Like," used the way you describe, is perfectly acceptable in informal speech. No one says "for example" unless they're giving a presentation. And only a pompous academic would actually say "e.g." in speech.
However, we have lost track of the proper usage of "like" versus "as." In the 1950s there was a huge cigarette advertising campaign, "Winston tastes good, like a cigarette should." A few people reminded us that it's supposed to be "as a cigarette should." Those of us who were educated in the old days can usually decide intuitively which word is appropriate, but even I would have to look it up Strunk & White before I could explain it to you in terms of grammatical rules.
well sorry, its not my fault that i grew up with this dialect... thats just how we talk in southern california, no one notices or cares here. besides, its not like it doesnt make sense. you know what people mean when they say that. youre just nitpicking...
CatherineW
Registered Senior Member
Surely "you know" is just "did/do you know" that has been shortened...
"you know what really annoys me..."
"do you know what really annoys me..."
"you know what really annoys me..."
"do you know what really annoys me..."