Like is a word with many meanings. Usually overused and often misused, like is a bad habit that plagues the speech of young generations. It's unprofessional, adds an element of uncertainty to a conversation and makes me internally cringe when I hear it. Still, perhaps the worst part about misusing the word is I do it, and in abundance.
The habit began in Southern California's San Fernando Valley in the 1970s when teenage girls began to speak in a social dialect called Valley Speak. Words including like, totally, whatever and way became fixtures in daily conversation.\0x2028 Examples in pop culture are the movie Clueless, Shaggy from Scooby Doo and Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Although to hear a real-life like misuser, turn your attention to the nearest female (and sometimes male) millennial.
Misuses, for the most part, fly rapid-fire from the mouths of the younger crowd. But the power of change lies in knowledge. After research and consulting a dictionary, I've found identifying correct uses and misuses is helpful when trying to drop the habit. Here is your cheat sheet.
Correct uses of like:
Similarity: saying something is like another thing. Analogies fall under this category, as well.
Example: You look like your mom.
Enjoyment: saying you like something.
Example: I like the color blue. Misuses of like:
Describing speech: using like instead of said, remarked, whispered, yelled, etc.
Incorrect: He was like, yeah, I'll be there.
Correct: He said, yeah, I'll be there.\0x2028
Hedge: using like as an approximation or in un-certainty.\0x2028
Incorrect: I ran, like, six miles.\0x2028
Correct: I ran approximately six miles.\0x2028
Filler: also called a vocalized pause by linguists, which are used to keep the conversation going when you have nothing else to say. In this instance, like can often be replaced with ah, um, uh and you know.
Incorrect: So, like, when are we leaving?
Correct: So, we are we leaving?
These nontraditional uses of like often accompany the words so, really and literally, and often involve exaggeration. Avoiding the misuse of like, as well as the three words in the last sentence, can dramatically increase both your vocabulary and credibility.
Indeed, saying like is a difficult habit to quit.
Talking is infinitely harder when policing every word that comes out of my mouth. It's been an incredibly contradicting journey.
I've found when I'm conscious of avoiding like, I hesitate even when I'm about to use it correctly. I secretly snicker when friends misuse it, but when I hear myself say it, I feel like an idiot. (Note the correct usage in the previous sentence. Avoiding the misuse of like in writing is much easier than when speaking.)
The hypocritical life is the hardest life.
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