Everyone has language pet peeves. It drives me nuts when people pronounce the “T” in often and the “noise” in Illinois. Sure, these are minor grievances and I can usually look the other way (in the verbal sense).

I have, however, noticed a creeping trend of adding “or whatever” as a verbal crutch. I first noticed it in a person I work with, then I caught myself doing it. Now my reticular activator swings wildly around, spotting instances of “or whatever” everywhere it turns!

It’s a weak way to express an idea and it makes the speaker sound dumb, dumb, dumb. For example, “So I was talking to Carl, or whatever…” Well, either you were or you were not speaking to Carl. There is no need whatsoever to add “or whatever.”

And woe, the worst part is I’ve caught myself saying it! My brain consciously notices it about the moment the “..ver” slips out of my mouth. Inwardly I cringe, hating that I’ve let slip this most useless of verbal tripe. I’ve been working hard to banish it from my vocabulary, but I cannot seem to escape it in my life. All around me people reinforce the meme by saying it over and over.

We all must work to banish this saying from our lives! It does nothing to enhance the conversation. It does nothing to clarify the subject. It simply makes the speaker appear simple.

Stop saying it! Stop saying it! Stop saying it! This is the battle cry to myself and a league of people who feel their skin crawl when those two words are uttered.