Like, You Know.... I Mean, Totally!

"Over and over - over and over - Just say it like you mean it - Just say it like you mean it." Matchbook Romance

I mean, like I am SO totally relieved to see that "I mean" really appears in the Urban Dictionary. You know -- I mean, without that explanation, like - well, I mean -- whatEVerrrrr.

I generally consider myself to be a fairly hip mom of two girls -- ages 21 and 16 today. The extent of our arguments about grammar and language over recent years has centered on the overuse of "like" in conversation. The long-standing Valley Girl equivalent of taking an "um" or two to collect one's thoughts. I wasn't really too concerned about a lot of other lazy language slipping into their daily jargon. You know?

In the media age, Olympic athletes find a microphone shoved down their throat before they've even had a moment to towel off. Or, worse -- when their never-beaten, highly-favored Gold Medal sure-thing team just choked and was mysteriously handed a Silver on the podium -- it's a wonder they can rub two brain cells together to speak anyway. But, I'm thinking that should not be sufficient excuse to start EVERY answer to EVERY question with the pithy "I mean." I mean, it's just ridonkulous.

This hefty opener does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, sex, nationality, or time of day. I heard it all last week on NBC, MSNBC, USA, ESPN, and ESPN2. I'm sure I missed a veritable plethora of "I mean" just while I was sleeping. This week seems much worse. But, I'll be able to sleep peacefully tonight, with the full confidence of an Urban Dictionary listing that defines it as "meaningless."

Word.

If I'm not, like, the only, like, language freak or whatever, then, I mean, see for yourself:

1. I mean

Meaningless American use of the English language. Often reflective of a complete lack of content in what they are saying - people of average intellect, articulation and education will simply pause and think about what they are saying. Probably due to American television with programs such as “Clueless”, “Legally Blonde” and “the OC”, which depict successful people as not requiring any form of intelligence or decent command of the English language. In real life, these people look stupid, act stupid, and everyone thinks they are stupid. Typically, they fail intelligence tests.
“He was like…I mean…like….like…I mean…totally….like…totally…couldn’t even speak american properly…like…I mean…” “I mean…like…one day…like…I will be the most successful…like…lawyer or teacher…like…I mean….just like in that movie…like…I better buy some pink clothes...i mean”