Whatever

It was curious to see the word whatever appear in two comic strips in today's paper, since yesterday a Marist poll declared it to be the "most annoying word for 2009". .

The other annoying choices were "anyway", "you know", "it is what it is", and "at the end of the day". Whatever won in all demographic categories. You can see the complete poll results here. .

Personally, I would have voted for "it is what it is". Whatever at least conveys something, albeit, an I-don't-give-a-sh*t attitude. "It is what it is" is just pseudo-intellectual babble-filler, devoid of meaning. Tack it on anywhere, and it adds nothing. For example : "Obama's Healthcare Plan. It is what it is."

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The only thing I didn't like about the poll was that the respondents had only five choices (plus "unsure") to choose from. It would've been better to also have a "none of the above" option, and then to be able to list your own offering.

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For instance, I know someone who uses the phrase "you know what I mean?" about every 30 seconds in a conversation. As in, "I was driving home tonight. And traffic was a b*tch, you know what I mean? So I called Domino's Pizza to order something for supper. But I still had to stop and pick it up, you know what I mean? So it wasn't the same as going out to eat. I just don't feel appreciated anymore, you know what I mean?"

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Ayup. Like fingernails on a chalkboard. It is what it is.