“You know,” “whatever” is, “like,” a really annoying term. We’re “just sayin’.”
When it comes to the most annoying words or phrases used in conversation, those four top the list for 2012, according to the annual Marist Poll.
“Whatever” headed the list, cited by 32 percent of adults, and next came “like,” which 21 percent didn’t like.
Runners-up included “Twitterverse” and “gotcha.”
The results mirrored last year’s survey, in which “whatever” topped the annoying words list for a third straight year. But “seriously,” named by 7 percent last year, dropped off the list entirely — really.
Marist polled 1,246 US adults in a telephone survey.
People younger than 45 or in the Northeast were especially annoyed by “like,” while “you know” offended more 45-and-overs.