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!
