You know what really sticks in my craw? People who say, “Ya know what I’m sayin’?” We all know that guy/girl, and he/she doesn’t just say it once. They can make one sentence seven times longer than it needs to be just because in between each clause they add, “Ya know what I’m sayin’?”

Allow me to give you an example. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day. He happens to be from New York (not that that has anything to do with the way he talks because we all know that people from New York are probably the easiest people to understand).

We were speaking about politics and I found myself completely lost in trying to understand what he was saying. He was attempting to express his opinion on the way that our president dealt with Hurricane Katrina. The conversation went as follows:

KAI: Hmm, you raise an interesting point “Jay Dawg.” So if I am to understand you correctly, you would say that the downfall of the FEMA effort was simply due to a breakdown in communication efficiency?

JAY DAWG: Nah Nah Nah, see, you know what I’m sayin’? Bush could’ve like … done it like this … you know what I’m sayin’? But then, in the same way … you know what I’m sayin? He coulda done it like that, you know what I’m sayin?

KAI: …What?

Do I know what you’re saying? No! I don’t know what you’re saying, and if you would simply tell me what you’re saying then you wouldn’t have to ask that stupid question.

“You know what I’m saying?” isn’t the only phrase of its kind that annoys me.

Its close cousin, “You know what I mean,” which is more common to the academic crowds, but sticks in my craw equally. I don’t know how many times I’ve been in class and after presenting an entirely incoherent idea, a student will ask the professor, “You know what I mean?” For all of you who use these two phrases, I am going to help you out. The answer to your question is NO! We don’t know what you’re saying and we don’t know what you mean, so stop asking!

For some unknown reason it has become a popular thing not to be able to speak clearly, and I don’t know why. How many of you use the word “like” between every word in a sentence, thus making it much more difficult to understand you? Like honestly, like I don’t like understand like why you like have to like use “like” so much.

Is it like that or is it that?! And don’t act as though you don’t do it. I’m sure at least 60 percent of the people reading this article are thinking, “Hmm, yeah, I do that.”

Another thing that sticks in my craw is when people say, “Hey let me ask you a question,” before they ask you a question. What am I supposed to say? “No you can’t ask me a question?” Just ask the question! Chances are you’re going to ask the question regardless of whether I say yes or no.

There is no uplifting moral at the end of this rant, ladies and gentlemen. I simply leave you with this: speak clearly and brush your teeth. Bad breath is offensive!

And that’s what really sticks in my craw. Good luck, Villanova, and godspeed.