I’ve been having problems with certain “words” in my life. I’m making the effort to eliminate the following words and phrases:
Basically
Actually
Technically
….And something
… And stuff
I think…
I’ll try….
Let’s get into the meat of the situation, we all have phrases that we say that begin to drive us crazy. My least favorite is my habit of saying “and something”.
For example:
“The battery is very large and something.” Of course the battery is “and something”. I feel like a dork every time I say it. Please, help me stop the use of the “and something”.
And like Yoda says I shouldn’t “try”, I should “do” it.
Instead of me saying “I’ll try to mow the lawn.”
No, instead “I will now the lawn.” (Unless it is raining….who wants to mow the lawn in the rain?).
In an effort to be specific, I’m switching to:
I will….
Don’t forget about “basically”. I recently started to listen to the radio show “Loveline” again (via podcast) and every time someone says “basically”, they ring a bell. Now, everything time I hear the word “basically”, I hear that bell go off in my head. I have been conditioned just like Pavlov’s dog; I hear the word “basically” and the bell goes off. Now where is my treat?
“And stuff”
I use “and stuff” when I’m talking and it is annoying. I wouldn’t write it but I find myself saying “Here comes Clark with the report and stuff.” Really? That just came out of my mouth?
Please don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to come off as a snobby speaker of the English language. I’m a terrible speaker and mispronounce words all the time (I blame my parents….but who doesn’t blame their parents for all their problems?). I’m focusing on my own poor speech patterns and phrases. For pete’s sake, this blog isn’t about you, ok? These items are things I want to fix about myself. And who says I can’t change (besides my wife and kids?).
One more that I don’t use but I hate:
Honestly and To be honest with you….
“Honestly, I don’t know what you mean that I crashed the car.”
“To be honest with you, I’d never eat the last cookie.”
You weren’t honest before? I don’t use those word phrases but they drive me crazy when I hear them.
So basically (ding), I’m trying to tell you that I need to work on myself and stuff, so that I think I can become a better person and something.
Actually, that was painful to write and then read.
Have a wonderful day!
Kevin Hellriegel's Blog of Worthless Advice 
Good for you! I’m constantly refining my communication skills. I find myself using “well” and “so” to start most of my sentences; then when I eliminate them, I find that most of the sentences start with, “I.” Communication is hard, yo!
Cheers!
Thanks for the comment. I’ve been listening to others more (I know that is a bit of shock) and I think to myself: “I’m not going to do that.” The other one I hate …”like”. The valley girl sounding “like” and saying “like” all the time. Like, you know, like, what I’m saying, like, right?
For sure and for real! Gag me with a spoon, I *totes* hate that!
Love it! And what about “what-not”? What the heck is that?! It drives me nuts every time I hear someone say it in place of a non-specific something. I believe that our speech is becoming more and more vague to catch-up with our text-communications: just as void of emotional context and significance. So, basically…(ha! just kidding!) Seriously, Napoleon! DWD
Hearing you clearly, Kevin. I struggle with similar ‘stuff.’ I’ve chosen to eliminate two words/phrases from my vocabulary: ‘have to’ and ‘should.’ Appreciating what I consciously use in lieu.
Well, well, well! May I offer my heartiest congratulations on your determined attempts to better your grasp on the English language? A toast to you, good sir!…(Cue triumphant trumpets blasting triumphantly as confetti litters the roadsides.) Hah, who am I kidding, what do I know about proper grammar? Still, very amusing post. May I add another tribute to the list of grammatical atrocities? It’s the word LITERALLY. This one kills me. People are using it to death. “I LITERALLY just had a heart attack”…”I LITERALLY destroyed my ugg boots in a puddle”…(good, now burn them)…”I LITERALLY have no fries left” blah-de-da. I especially despise it when coupled with a whiny, nasal voice and a pity-me pout. Horrors! But hey, I won’t shank anyone over it, so everyone can relax now and go have a cookie (or a biscuit) and some warm milk.
Literally has come up a few times from other bloggers. They hate themselves for using it and luckily, I didn’t fall into the “literally” habit. But hey, there is time, right?
At least you don’t say ‘literally’ all the time! That’s my pet hat in others. That and how everyone answers a question by saying “so…” I want to stop saying, “absolutely”. I’m told I should swear less too…
I forgot about “absolutely”. Yeah, I need to swear less too. At least by writing, I can make a conscious effort not to swear.
love the pic… could live without all the things you point out… and “um”… i want to slap our prime minister every time the word “um” comes out of his mouth.
The cursed “um”. I try to sound like I know what I’m talking about.
Guilty! The funny thing is, correcting myself usually results in replacement words that become as obnoxious, if not worse. I also try to eliminate “very” in my vocabulary Ie) “exhausted” instead of “very tired”
That’s a very clever thing you do! Ya, “very” is a bad one too.
Reblogged this on Crazy Pasta Child.
i like the pixure of you standing on top of what is probably a rock. some of my favorite pixures of myself are similar.
now, this “and something”. or something. something in the weigh she moves (the needle on the bathroom scale)? anyhow, there’s a yooneeevurss of possibility there.
also, thanks, next time i won’t go out and “DO” while mowing the lawn. i shall only “try” …