Can you go 24 hours without using "awesome," "suck," "basically" and "actually"?
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I have many verbal crutches. When I am successful at shedding one, it’s usually replaced by another.
It’s easier to do when everyone in my house is on board. My wife and I were able to shed the cringe-worthy “like” a few years ago, once we discovered that it was 50% of the words we were speaking.
I will get back to you….......
Yes, in point of fact, weeks, but not ‘fuck’ or ’ balls’
Yep… not a problem.
It is actually quite easy for us Dutch, who may suck in basically everything, but are truly awesome in not speaking English for a day.
It may proof harder for my kids, though, nowadays. They start messing up their Dutch with all kinds of unwarranted English.
I overuse “actually,” but I’m working on my sorry self. I rarely use any of the others you’ve listed.
No, I’m a child of the 80’s… so there
Probably not. I can try and I’ll let you know.
Actually, I could. I tried it once, but it really sucked. Basically, it’s really hard to censor myself. But when I succeed, it’s an awesome feeling.
I could but Frodo couldn’t.
Of course, don’t use them much anyway, but really, who cares?
Yes. Easily. They’re more American words. I would only use the word actually, and can easily not need to say it for 24 hours.
Basically, I actually use awesome and suck frequently.
No, seriously, I don’t use any of those words very often.
They rarely pass my lips because they seldom form in my mind.
Yes, since I don’t speak English that much.
Yes, I can do with out those four words in my vocabulary for a number of days.
My verbal crutch is the word “so” which I am trying to curb. I tend to use it to initiate sentences where I am hoping for agreement/approval. I have really broken myself of the habit of ending sentences with an unending ”...so,...”
What I find quite annoying is the rising inflection at a end of a declarative sentence that many 20 – 30 year olds use. It’s as if they are not sure if they are asking a question or making a statement. Can’t quite replicate it in print but it goes something like, “I feel that the gonverment is really being an asshole about this shutdown?”
I have no desire to even try.
Awesome might be difficult for me to shake, but I do not really use the others. I admittedly overuse “like”, but I grew up in Southern California during the 90s so that one is hard to shake. I do try to ensure that it never follows me into the classroom as either a professor or student.
@janbb That verbal quirk has always baffled me. I’m not sure where or when it became common first, but I hear it from all sorts of different English speakers.
@muppetish Yes, it speaks of a kind of insecurity or an enlistment for agreement to me.
Yes I can but point taken. I do happen to agree it does sound insecure. I generally expose my insecurity literally, “I apologize” or “I’m sorry” have been ingrained in my speech pattern since I learned how to talk, which do you consider the greater of the two evils?
@janbb Sounds like the taught “I statements” Do not put your opinion on other people, declare your feelings or opinions through I statements that way you are expressing yourself without blaming anyone.
What they don’t teach is that this is used primarily in personal relationships and that eventually a person should grow strong and develop other methods of expressing themselves. Also although many of the political are subjective and based on perspective there people can employ facts to back up their opinion and not have to worry about offending someone. This could be exacerbated by the general media’s dirth of facts.
@morphail Oh yes, I’ve noticed it for a while. A very interesting article about the significance; thanks for posting it.
I often go a week without saying a word.
I could, not that I would unless for good reason.
I use actually a lot, but I never use suck and rarely use the other words on your list.
Can I? Yes. Will I? No. :p
@janbb “What I find quite annoying is the rising inflection at a end of a declarative sentence that many 20 – 30 year olds use.”
Ugh. Yes, this drives me crazy.
Saying it? Yes
Being it? No.
Yes. If I ever use “awesome,” it’s in the dictionary sense, not the slang sense, and I rarely have occasion to do that. The others turn up now and then, but I could easily do without them.
I’d probably have a worse time getting rid of “really,” which crops up way too often. Sometimes when you see me editing and reediting a post, what I’m doing is going back and cutting several instances of “really” down to one or none. I ask myself what’s the important difference between saying something is interesting or hard or unusual (for example) and saying it’s really interesting or hard or unusual. The answer is, it’s not much; but the habit is hard (really hard) to break.
Sure, but I’d just replace them with “totally,” “radical,” “kickass,” and “whatever.”~
Actually, “awesome” sucks, basically.
I rarely use such words and I hold myself to a higher standard of language use.
Not a problem for me. I could most likely give them up for a lifetime.
But could I give up visualizing a woman talking in “up speak ” as a 12 yr. old girl ? Absolutely not. M
It’s too ridiculous for words to hear up speak coming out of the mouth of a full grown woman.
Ok, I’m back and I did not use any of those words for over 26 hours.
As far as I know
No problem with those. The one’s I couldn’t give up were shithead, moron, idiot, fuck head, and dumb ass. You try driving around here.
@Buttonstc: What does “upspeak” mean?
@Adirondackwannabe; I think that your list makes sense in the context. It’s similar to hitting your thumb w. a hammer and yelling, “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
If one describes something as “awesome,” it can mean so many things that it ends up meaning nothing and you have to ask your interlocutor to be more specific…which s/he could have been initially and saved everyone a lot of time.
@gailcalled See discussion of it further up in this thread after my comment on it (I didn’t know what it was called) and the following links.
So, if I state something declaratively and simultaneously let my voice rise at the end of the sentence, that is upspeak.?
Yes. Upspeak turns a straightforward declarative sentence into a question. Annoying.
It’s one of the most irritating trends I can think of?
I babysat a child (about age 8) who never spoke any other way. Every single sentence she uttered went up at the end like a question. Listening to her was a bit exhausting because I had to pay attention to everything she said, never knowing when she actually was asking a question. After a while I wanted to strangle her.
I did go 24hr. with out saying any of those words, it was basically quite awesome that I actually did it, and it did not suck as much as I thought it would.
Yeah, cuz’ it sucks when stuff sucks.
Wait, stop…eight hours sleep in each twenty four hour cycle, that’d make it easy.
Challenge accepted.
…I can still say ‘frak’, right?
You, my pet, may say anything you want.
Haha, I just saw this question. There’s no way I could do it.
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