(Newser)
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“Whatever” is, like, the most annoying word in the English language, a poll finds—for the second year in a row, notes Reuters. The Marist survey of more than 1,000 Americans found that almost 39% think “whatever” is the most annoying English word or phrase; runners up were “like,” with 28%, and “you know what I mean,” with 15%. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, “like” was considered the most infuriating.
People also had gripes about “to tell you the truth” and “actually.” “It's the way they are delivered and inherent in that delivery is a meaning,” said a Marist rep. “"Perhaps these words are introduced through popular culture, for example movies.” The annoyance factor “has a lot to do with how accepted and how popular they become in every day speech."
