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Um, what’s YOUR “crutch word”?

A while back, Web Watch told you about how much we hate certain words – like “mancave” and “actually”.

It ends up that there’s a reason why some of these words really suck – and it’s not because some of these phrases are just stupid made-up things (“vajayjay”) that serve no purpose when other, more practical words can suffice.

The Elements of Expression: Putting Thoughts into Words, Revised and Expanded
The Elements of Expression: Putting Thoughts into Words, Revised and Expanded

No, it’s all about how people have begun using certain words as CRUTCH WORDS in their everyday conversations.  Teenagers especially have no idea how to hold a reasonable converation with, like, just about anyone without, like, saying the word “like”, like, a lot.

For them, “like” is a crutch word.  A word that people just say as a way of filling in the sentence as they pause to consider their next word.

And no matter how annoying it is to hear someone pepper their sentences with “like” and “ums”, there are a ton of otherCRUTCH WORDSthat any professional speaker or basic conversationalist should work hard to strike from their vocabulary and presentations.

Trust Web Watch – you’ll sound a million times smarter if you can just eliminate these words from your brain:

  • Actually
  • As it were
  • Basically
  • In a weird way
  • Um
  • At the end of the day
  • Like
  • For the record
  • For what it’s worth
  • Seriously
  • Honestly
  • Always
  • Never
  • Apparently
  • Reportedly
  • Literally
  • And so forth and so on
  • Definitely
  • Absolutely
  • Essentially
  • Exponentially
  • Fantastic
  • Fascinating
  • Going forward
  • If you will
  • I’m not gonna lie
  • Oh, really?
  • In fairness
  • To be fair
  • In the final analysis
  • Irregardless
  • It is what it is
  • Look
  • Kind of
  • Sort of
  • Mark my words
  • Obviously
  • Ok
  • Per se
  • Personally
  • Quite frankly
  • Right?
  • So
  • Take it to the next level
  • The thing is
  • The truth of the matter is
  • Totally
  • Evidently
  • Clearly
  • Very
  • Very unique
  • Very distinct
  • Well
  • Whatever
  • With all due respect
  • Works for me
  • You know?
  • What can I tell ya?

Oh, the list goes on and on, it seems, doesn’t it?  You’ll need to click through to the linked story to see the details and usage of each one of the above phrases and why they’re so evil and bad – but trust Web Watch that the read is worth it.

So tell us – what are the “crutch words” that have been left off the above list, that you only hear from your own friends and family?  Post those in the comments below and let us know what we should be trying to avoid in the future…