Semester Phrase Recap

I am nothing if not a girl of phrases. I adapt these weird little things that I say, and I just can’t stop. Soon enough, everyone around me is saying them too and we all say the same silly things nonstop. The phrases come and go, but there are some notable ones that my friends and I just can’t get enough of. We kind of sound like an echo-chamber when we’re all repeating each other and saying these phrases over and over. As the semester comes to an end, I feel that it’s only appropriate to recap my phrases this semester and share them with the world. 

1. In a way 

“In a way” is stolen from one of my good friends from home. It took some time to catch on, but it has now fully made its way into my vocabulary. I use it instead of saying “sort of”, or in trying to get someone to see what I see. For example, someone could show me a shirt they like in a store that is a little funky but a little cute, and my response would be, “in a way” to show that it could work… in a way. It could also be someone asking if I agree or understand and my response could be “in a way” instead of “sort of” or something else along those lines. It doesn’t seem atypical, but I think if used correctly, it can be very funny… in a way. 

2. The people 

“The people” is a more recent development, and refers to pretty much everybody everywhere all the time. “The people” are just the people of the world, with absolutely no specificity. A classic use of this is “tell the people!” when someone says something a little bit out-of-pocket or funny. However, it can also be used to reference the opinion of “the people”, as in “the people love me” or “the people love this book but I don’t get it” (the people in the second example being everyone on GoodReads that wrote a review). It really doesn’t matter who “the people” are, they just exist to be a silly little phrase. 

3. I’m like

This one has truly been an epidemic. It’s used exactly how it sounds– just to describe how you are like. However, it is used slightly in excess and to the point where it doesn’t really make sense anymore. It can be used alone in a state of shock or confusion, or to start a sentence. For example, if someone told me some news that was really weird or shocking, I would just say “I’m like…?” and leave it there. Another option in this same situation would be “I’m like what are you doing?” or something along those lines. It can be used in any state of being like. This one is especially funny sounding when written out, but it really caught on so quickly and is used so regularly. 

4. So true

A common theme with these phrases is that it gets to the point where they’re used even when they don’t make sense. This is especially applicable here, as “so true” makes sense most of the time, but it gets used to the extent that it doesn’t make sense and is just a little bit weird and funny. When I look it up in my texts, “so true” is used as a response to the following: “this is my rise to stardom I guess”, “at least it was a woman” “…” “My mom is making all four of us go because the patriarchy is bad for everyone, including men!”, or just in response to a selfie or tik tok. It really just means you agree or you get it or they’re right. So true. 

5. Help

This last one is a term of confusion and dismay. I just got an email from Dunkin’ telling me that I am eligible for presale for their shakers and cocktail tumblers. Help??? Someone did something really weird or random– help!! It gets sort of problematic and especially funny when used in the most mundane settings because you clearly don’t need any actual help. These little exclamations sound funny to us, as well as to the rest of the world, and just add a little variation to storytelling and not understanding things. Like help why would they do that???

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