I used to think I had a fairly good command of the English language, but lately I am puzzled by words I thought I knew.
I don’t get the word “um” in its current usage. Read the following sentence to see what I mean:
Um excuse me, are these not the most ridiculous sunglasses you’ve ever seen?
I am quoting a nice girl named Karla whose blog is very popular. Her readers seem to speak her language. I know she’s saying, “These sunglasses are awesome,” but what’s with the “um?”
Does “um” at the beginning of a sentence mean “wow?” This is a genuine question! Whatever it means in this context, I want it to stop.
If this were a movie instead of a blog, I’d cut to a fantasy sequence.
“Karla? It’s me, I’m at Bloomingdale’s trying on fur crap. Want to hang out?”
“Hi, honey. I’ll be home late tonight. Karla is taking me to this insane gym to help me build up my legs. Bye!”