'I know, right?': The anatomy of a wonderfully nonsensical phrase

And why we insist on saying things that make no literal sense

Fallon Fey
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill))

Sometimes people say something that you understand perfectly well, but if you stop and think about it, it doesn't make literal sense. I know, right?

There are those who argue that "I know, right?" is stupid and meaningless, and that we should stop using it. After all, when you say it you're not really asking whether or not you know.

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James Harbeck

James Harbeck is a professional word taster and sentence sommelier (an editor trained in linguistics). He is the author of the blog Sesquiotica and the book Songs of Love and Grammar.