Is there a word or a phrase you use (or overuse) all the time,
and are seemingly unable to get rid of?
If not, what’s the one that drives you crazy when others use it?
*** *** *** *** ***
Um.
Well.
That’s crazy that you should ask for one that drives me crazy because, it’s… um, well, it’s “That’s crazy.”
I became aware of the verbal tick about a year or so ago. It seemed everyone was using it. I managed to resist. Which is a feat, because I adopt current slang without realizing it.
Interestingly, today I read that the Urban Dictionary describes it as a generic term that denotes an implied sympathetic reaction to your correspondent’s story, but since you haven’t really been listening, you’re covered.
Reiner has started to use the phrase.
Hmph.
Inspired by the Daily Prompt
(Why don’t you drop on over to see who else thinks that’s crazy.)
And my good buddy Stephanie who, like me, is playing catch-up with the current trendy talk.
I've got to share this!
Categories: Blog Blog Blog
Tags: daily post
63 replies ›
Trackbacks
- Daily Prompt: Verbal Ticks | tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice
- Just Because it is in the Dictionary | Prairie Views
- It is what it is, but consider what it could be. | waltbox
That’s crazy! My daughter says it to me ALL the time……
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But you get the sense that she’s listening to you, am I right? For the most part, I think people are listening when they say it. “That’s crazy” seems to be the new substitute for “wow” or “no way, man” or even “dude!”
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lol, yes.
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I don’t have a verbal tic per se, but since I don’t enjoy small talk, I do hone in on other people’s responses. My least favorite phrase that I hear people using is: “It is what it is.” It is beyond me why the energy was even spent making those sounds that convey absolutely nothing.
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I think I understand, Michelle. People use a phrase out of context… they parrot the bon mot du jour (forgive the excess snootiness there) to fill up space. Do I get your meaning?
One phrase, or any variation of “unless you’ve been living under a rock” flips a switch for me. I get riled up and defensive. So what if I haven’t been following the “news”? Don’t mock me or my preferences to remove myself from the noise.
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The rock comment is pretty rude, though – it goes beyond just filling space. My pet peeve is fairly petty, I suppose.
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Hey, Michelle – I didn’t know what to say here, so I didn’t say a thing. But then a second comment from Walt (see below) came by. I must be missing something regarding the saying “It is what it is.”
When I say it, I mean ” no point fighting it, resistance is futile, accept your lot, that sort of thing. I’m interested in hearing more, if you’d like to expand on how the phrase is used when it troubles you.
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I’ve actually seen it printed on plaques to hang up in your home – as in, it’s been codified, commercialized and rendered meaningless. When someone says that, I assume they know nothing and as Walt says, have just given up. It’s also a way of passive-aggressively cutting off a conversation. But that might just be me doing that over-thinking thing that I do on occasion.
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I’ve been on the receiving end of the passive-aggressive use of the term, so I know what you mean. Thanks.
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Really? That’s crazy! Really?
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Really! 😉
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This is some crazy stuff here Maggie. Good stuff but, crazy stuff. I liked it.
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Thanks! – btw – looking forward to further installments of your piece!
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Seriously? When I write, I write the story, then go back and edit. I put in some snark and take out the redundancies. I find that I write “seriously” a lot so I’m guessing I must say it too. Seriously.
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I’ve got a stash of snark at the ready, too. Catching the excess redundancies (like them there, see?) is a tiny bit (again!) trickier.
Seriously!
Thanks for playing. 😀
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I like “seriously”. I know it’s bogus, but I like it and will keep using it. Seriously!
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I like “seriously!” and it’s twin “seriously?”
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My verbal tics involve variants on the word “interesting” or “Oh, I see” when neither of them really apply.
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It’s all good (another trendy saying!) though, right? You are appropriately indicating via these verbal “non applicable” gestures that you are listening and engaged.
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Oh, Maggie….bad enough that you know it is implied sympathetic reaction from non-listening, but now Reiner is doing it, also?? That’s crazy…
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LOL – oh you got that right! [she says as she readies the hairy eyeball for the next time he utters the phrase!]
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I would like to think what word(s) I use to excess, but, a bit like when I visit the dentist, I my mind goes blank. 😀
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Sounds like your dentist uses some fine relaxation techniques! 😉
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“oh my God” is the one I’d like to chuck from my responses. Perhaps I’ll substitue “that’s crazy” or even go out on a limb and say “you’re crazy” 🙂
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who you callin’ crazy! (I know, I know, if the foo shits…)
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Seriously!
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You’re crazy! (Just practicing)
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OK, there is not an emoticon expressive enough to illustrate my laughter here… you crack me up. 😀
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Now you’ve done it … I’m already starting to obsess about the things I might be saying that drive other people crazy and I don’t even know it!
Although I know I used to drive my former boss crazy because I won’t say anything. He called me passive-aggressive but I really was often at a loss for words…..
We didn’t get along very well…..
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Yikes! “We didn’t get along very well…” sounds like a candidate for Understatement of the Year award, given the preceding sentences! Glad the word “former’ was wandering around in there, too.
When I worked at Bell, the annual review was called the JPR aka job progress review, or as we underlings called it, “jab, poke, and run.” I remember one boss who claimed that I was disorganized. How did that Bible story go? The one about the speck in another’s eye when you’ve got a freaking great log in your own.
Always had trouble with that imagery, but yeah, I think you get my point. Working for a boss like him? THAT’S crazy-making!
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I think there might be a blog post in here about former bosses! 🙂
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I had the exact same thought.
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I’m confident you will do it justice!! 🙂
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It’s not me I swear… but running rampant in my place of employment is: “You know what I mean?” – sometimes I am tempted to say NO! WTF are you talking about? but alas, I just smile and nod…
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[smiling][nodding]
I wonder if anyone has recorded a morning’s dialogue, for example, in a workplace like yours and transcribed it for an alien visitor – removing all of the vernacular and idiom and distilled it down to the basic requirements. Would make for an interesting study of how we engage verbally with one another, I think.
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It would probably sound something akin to “Ugh!”
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Prolly.
And just so you know, this is the first time that I have used the bastardization of the word “probably” in my text. This is me, making sure that the world knows that I know the correct spelling and use of the word!
Just sayin’.
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Hi Maggie,
These days everyone seems to be saying “Iknowright?” And it’s contagious. People who otherwise don’t seem susceptible to catch phrases seem to be catching onto that one. That’s a bother.
I agree with the commenter above who called attention to “It is what it is.” That’s an indicator of give-up.
I have a co-worker who, when introducing a new initiative, will always finish his schpiel with the phrase “so that’s the big thing for that.” If the rest of what he had to say wasn’t so substantive, that ending would drive me bonkos. But he’s actually quite a good communicator, aside from that quirk.
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Hi Walt. Thanks for joining the conversation.
I suppose in context, “so that’s the big thing for that” might not seem as vapid as it does here. But still. It does seem that dialogue, or conversation has been reduced to meme-speak. Not sure what to think about that. It indicates that you are online, that your are following and absorbing the current trends, but does it mean anything other than that? Should we care?
I don’t know. I am so far removed from the workplace and even the social place that I think I may have lost touch.
As for “It is what it is.” I must be missing something, for both you and Michelle are thoughtful and profound writers, from my POV. But I don’t find anything lacking or otherwise unattractive about the saying. Perhaps it is being bandied about in a manner with which I am not familiar?
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Thank you, Walt, for the mention on your post today. In the context of your story, I completely understand the aversion to the saying. It is used as a cop-out.
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And thank you for the mention!
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I like when I something along the lines of “that’s crazy” and then realize they asked me a question or it’s totally inappropriate for the situation, or I don’t have an answer or can’t offer any help.
“My dog was hit by a car”
me: “That’s crazy”
“That cat just puked all over your new golf shoes”
me: “That’s crazy”
“Do you think we should still be married?”
me: “That’s crazy”
“I’ve been so depressed. Might off myself.”
me: “That’s crazy”
I don’t even know what my point is. 🙂
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Hi Chris – thanks for climbing aboard the bandwagon.
You make me smile. Now go talk to your wife.
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Brilliant, ‘that’s crazy’, is such a common phrase, I forgot it! Have also found a fantastic post with a sermon on the word ‘fuck’! It is well worth looking at…. not something I’d say lightly.
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I use the f-shot more often than you might think. But rarely in my posts.
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OK, because I was off from work yesterday and today but still keeping in touch with email through the damn company cell, half of what I read, I thought, “that’s crazy.” WTH, Maggie?! Naturally I had to go back and laugh through the entire post again AND THEN I read the comments! ‘If the foo shits’?! Where in the heck did that come from? Oh, I can’t want to get to work on Monday and use that one. Why? Cause it is what it is. A former boss of mine always said that. Thank goodness that phrase left as soon as he did.
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OK, you might curse me for this, Lois, but since you asked, here’s the joke:
An American missionary travels to a remote island in the South
Pacific. Upon arriving, he is greeted by jubilant tribesmen and
dancing hula girls, all chanting a song whose chorus contains the
syllable “foo” repeated over and over.
The tribal chieftain tells the missionary that he is just in time for
the “Foo Festival,” a traditional time of homage and respect for a
local bird which is revered as a powerful, godlike being. The
missionary smiles and nods at the myths of these simple people, and
asks to learn more about the Foo Bird.
The chief says that the bird, although small, is known for its copious
feces. In fact, the chief points out, the whole island is encrusted
with dried Foo doo. It is considered to be a great honor for the Foo
Bird to fly above your domicile and bless your roof with his
droppings. The Foo Bird’s excrement brings good fortune and blessings
to all the people, and it would be a sin to disturb the piles of Foo
poo that have accumulated everywhere.
The missionary is a bit disconcerted by this strange belief, and he
begins to say something when he hears a tiny “chirp!” and a blob of
avian doody lands on his shoulder. He looks up to see that above him
flaps the Foo Bird, ready to drop another load.
Disgusted, the missionary takes out his handkerchief and wipes away the Foo feces.
He drops dead on the spot.
The chief looks at down him sadly and says, “Truly it is written: If
the Foo shits, wear it!”
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that’s crazy….
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Wow, I never imagined that I would see this legendary tale presented in the form of the “printed” word.” This is a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation as a “spoken word” cautionary tale. I myself remember hearing of the fabled Foo while seated next to the campfire as a mere “tinderfoot” Scout. As I recall this was prior to my very first Snipe hunting expedition…
Thanks for the memories Maggie Wilson!
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My pleasure. How were the snipe? 😉
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Elusive.
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Yeah, I hear they are like that. Next time.
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I was reading through here, wondering what trite shit I reel off, annoying or not. My husband just stuck his head in from the kitchen to tell me my oven cooking chips are pretty brown on the edges.
“Yep – no worries!” I say, continuing to type here. Hmmmmm. 😀
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Chips? Did you say chips? I’ll be right over!
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(How on earth do you get so many damn comments?! You rock!)
Okay, to the point:
“I adopt current slang without realizing it.” Yep, me, too. Seriously.
“It is what it is” is a cousin to “whatever is meant to be will be” which is a rule I live by. Seriously.
Um, what else caught my eye… wait a minute while I go check… oh yes…
OMG, I drop the f-bomb twenty times a day, to Prince Charming’s eternal dismay. (Because he’s so f-ing proper — not!)
I use “I hear ya” prolly in place of “That’s crazy” having never heard the term “That’s crazy” in the manner in which you have written about it before today. My brother uses “I feel ya” in much the same way.
We don’t have any issues here with “Do ya know what I mean?” but I personally use “No worries” quite often instead of a simple “you’re welcome.”
Am I done? I think I’m done. Seriously.
:>
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The number of comments? Full moon is my answer. Took me by surprise, too. Pleasantly, of course, but also a tiny bit freaked out.
One saying that I use quite often is “I know!” a la Monica Geller. My niece will love me for this. She’s a diehard Friends fan.
PS – magic edit button to the rescue – “some” to “so” in three easy steps!
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(I think I love you for covering my A$$ on the typo.)
I see A Cheesy Little Story has quite a respectable number of comments, as well. I can’t wait to read it. Of course, the moon is still just a tad full, so we’ll see if your theory holds water after the weekend.
I TOTALLY use “I know!” in that same way, all the f-ing time. Sometimes it’s “I know, right?!” (My children are also life-long Friends fans. Seriously, they can quote entire episodes. It’s just a little bit pathetic, but, you know, funny as hell.)
Oh, and apparently, I use “ya know?” a lot, too.
:>
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This has been a good weekend for me comments-wise. I can see why the top bloggers basically post, sit back, and allow their followers to have a field day in the comments section without responding. Because if they did, they’d never get away from the keyboard.
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I’m OK with most phrases until they start getting misused. When certain phrases get so popular that people start saying them as a reaction without thinking about whether or not they apply. I try to think about the words/phrases I say, Every now and then my wife or I will point out to the other that we’re using a word too much.
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Hey Dan – thanks for reading and commenting.
“people start saying them as a reaction without thinking about whether or not they apply.”
I think I might fall into that category – once I adopt a phrase, it sticks. And it gets a workout. Words are out of my mouth before I can judge whether they are appropriate. I think that’s why I was so determined to avoid the phrase “that’s crazy” – I too a disliking to it from the get-go.
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