It is a phrase usually used when one is agreeing with another’s observation/opinion on a matter. One could say, “I agree” in place of “I know, right?” However, to respond to someone else’s observation with “I agree” may come across as giving one’s opinion when it was not specifically requested. By adding the, “right?” to the end of the sentence, one is agreeing but also deferring to the initial observation.

“I know, right?” tends to be a phrase used in casual conversation. It holds a similar purpose as the use of the word “totally” in surfer speak and the usage of “word” as a statement of agreement in hip hop culture. It is slang, and it’s meant to be used in an informal manner. However, as is often the case with younger generations, the phrase is creeping over into more formal conversations. I think it is more easily co-opted than “totally” or “word” because on the surface it is harder to define it as slang than those other words.

I’m an avid fan of your podcasts; listen to them all the time. Congratulation on your anniversary. I stay in India and here its very common to see married people sticking together for their whole lives. But the one common idea that people here are used to repeat here in casual conversations and which gets me irritated almost every time i hear about it is the idea that the ‘western culture is not conducive to steady and long-term relationships’ and that relationships like those are impossible to maintain in the west.

Your married life is probably a good example to prove the falsity of that idea. Besides, this cliche is so oft-repeated that its become so tedious and dull.

Anyways, I wish you all the very best on your married life.

I hope you will find the time to blog about opening day! We’re dying to hear about it!

good to see you posting in your blog again. Too bad you couldn’t see the whole game, but two innings is better than nothing and you sure look happy in the picture.

Cheers,

Anne

:o)

It’s very hard to get away from these things–even though they drive us up a wall sometimes!

In my office I’m starting to hear the girls say “Yeah, right?” as often as “I know, right?”

Two that jump into my mind right off the bat (there’s an idiom that might annoy people who don’t use it) are these:

“At the end of the day…”

“In the final analysis…”

I believe the former is a metaphor about which most speakers don’t reflect very much. (I am at the end of my school day as I type this. This is the moment when the phrase resonates with me.)

The latter phrase seems to me to be an overstatement, since it’s usually uttered in the absence of any great in-depth analysis–certainly not after the ultimate analysis of an argument.

“I know, right?” This might be annoying, but it’s impossible for me to call it “wrong.”