crutch words...

On the radio today they did a segment on "crutch words", words (or sounds) we use to, for lack of a better term, take up time while we think, or to add emphasis. When used for emphasis, they're not precise words, but rather our default "Pay attention to me!" words.

Some examples:
- like
- um..
- I mean
- you know
- literally
- so...
- listen
- you see

When I hear those out of context it always pokes me wrong, like the person doesn't really know what he's saying. That's not fair, I notice "um" and "so." (and use them myself when I'm not paying attention) but they don't strike me as sloppy the way like, I mean, and you know do.

What made me smile was that the guests on the show, the experts who really, truly, had lots of interesting stuff to say about the field of crutch words (Yes, it's a field), all said "you know" and "I mean" pretty regularly.

Now I'm extra sensitive to what I say; I prefer a pause over "um", and really really try to avoid, "I mean" and "you know".