Battologize (verb) (TWITO, page 20)
To repeat oneself excessively
"But when we pray, let us not battologize (i.e., use vain repetitions), but theologize."
--Samuel Miller (quoting the early Christian theologian Origen), "Thoughts on Public Prayer" (1849)
It can be annoying when someone keeps repeating himself, but it can be amusing, too. Whenever you hear the word or catchphrase elsewhere, you think of that person. The verbal tic becomes symbolic of him or her, like a sonic monogram or an aural coat of arms. As the Beatles said, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Here are some words and phrases I hear from battologizers (who shall be nameless) all the time:
circle back
close the loop
have a conversation about....
pretty much
exactly!
What's interesting is....
Can I ask you a question?
over to you
okay, okay, okay
Here's the thing...
whatcha got?
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