I’ve noticed a trend, and it’s been around a few years. Mostly I hear it on the radio, but there are people at work who also use one word an alarming amount of times in any given paragraph. The word? It’s “right.” Repeated over and over.
Now, I don’t mind hearing it sparsely in a conversation. Sometimes it’s put to good use, emphasizing a valid point. That’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the overuse that bothers me. Let me show you what I mean:
Now, I don’t mind hearing it sparsely in a conversation, right? Sometimes it’s put to good use, emphasizing a valid point, right? That’s not what I’m talking about, right? It’s the overuse that bothers me, right?
You get my point.
I tried to think what word it’s replacing as the one that’s overused most in society. Remember when “like” was repeated over and over? The two words are used differently, but I think both are akin to nervous tics. Another word that fits the bill? It’s “um.” Okay, we’ll maybe never get rid of that last one. Toastmasters graduates aside.
I sought an expert opinion on this. I looked up articles written by linguists, but they were mostly more esoteric. I found strings of thought on Reddit (I don’t know what the correct word is for Reddit–is it strings?), but they weren’t helpful. Just people griping about how annoyed they were by “right.”
Other overused words? “Basically” or “literally.” A co-worker of mine uses “literally” to punctuate nearly every thought. I’m sure she knows the actual meaning, but that doesn’t stop her from driving me batty with her conversational choice.
We all have our favorite words. One of mine is “hopefully.” I’m trying to stop using it so much, but it’s darn convenient!
Hopefully I can break that habit, right?
Image Credits: People Talking (header) © Oksana–stock.adobe.com; Girl talking © Dzianis Vasilyeu–stock.adobe.com
My World With Words 
My pet peeve in conversation is when a person is asked, “Do you mind blank, blank, blank?” And the the answer is always, “Yeah, sure, go ahead.” Drives me nuts! I understand where you are coming from. Do you mind that I shared my thoughts? No, of course not! Lol…”mind” implies a negative affect. Response is clearly not appropriate.
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I don’t mind at all that you shared your thoughts 🙂 but I get where you’re coming from!
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I really appreciate this topic, Belinda. I have a friend that constantly uses the phrase “to be honest.” It drives me crazy, but I haven’t figured out a way to tell her yet. Filler words are helpful sometimes, but it can be a bad habit, for sure!
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Yeah, it’s hard to tell people their habits are annoying. Sometimes you just have to put up with it, and by you I mean all of us. Thank you for the comment!
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Perfect title for this post, Belinda!
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Thank you! 😊
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NPR, much as I love it, but it would make me grit my teeth when the interviewer asked a question and the interviewee would respond with, “Right….” and then go on with their response. Why?!
haha! Yes, Toastmasters always count the ah’s and um’s of speakers–that used to be a joke at work….that got old pretty darn quickly!
What gets me is people who say, “Trust me on this.” No, I don’t think so, but please do go on and say what you want to say and let me be the judge.
So many things, Belinda! What a fun post! 😃
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Thank you! We all have our pet peeves. And when someone says “trust me,” I’m automatically on guard.
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My husband uses this word at the end of sentences, and each time, I wanna be like, actually…no lol
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Ha ha. I don’t know how it started, but with any luck, it will end at some point.
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Belinda, I guess sometimes it is hard to find the right words to say. 😁
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You are absolutely right there!
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