Walk into any hip startup and what's the one word you'll hear echoing across the cubicles and over the Keurig despite best efforts to rein in its use? No, it doesn't rhyme with luck or hit. This one rhymes with hike and should be wildly familiar to anyone who's seen the movies Valley Girl or Clueless. Like may sound juvenile, but it has taken over our linguistic nooks and crannies in almost every variety of global English. It appears at the beginning of sentences, in the middle of clauses, and now it even introduces quotes. This expanded use of like is so widespread that news outlets ranging from The Atlantic to Time to Vanity Fair to The New York Times have covered what seems to be its troubling and meteoric rise.
But before condemning like as a blight on all that we hold professionally dear, let's take some time to consider why it might actually serve the greater communicative good. Just maybe, there is more to like than we might at first believe.
LIKE IS AN INCREDIBLY AMORPHOUS WORD. Even when it's "appropriately" used, it's a syntactical workhorse. Primarily, we hear like as a verb, to discuss a fondness for objects or people ("I like ice cream"). As a noun, we have preferences (likes) and their opposite (dislikes). As an adjective, the word is infinitely applicable (swanlike, buffoonlike) to mean "similar to" or "in the manner of." We also see like used as a preposition, as found in a simile construction ("She has eyes like the sky") and as a conjunction to embed another clause ("She rode the bike like she was on fire").
Denne historien er fra May - June 2023-utgaven av Entrepreneur US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May - June 2023-utgaven av Entrepreneur US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Better Way to Fail
The next time something you do flops, here's a new way to learn from it.
Making the Midlife Leap
After getting laid off in her early 50s, Keri Gardner decided she wanted to control her own fate-so she bought a franchise with her 401(k).
A Quick Guide to Franchise Ownership Costs
Franchising costs money. Here's what everything means.
This Doughnut Franchise Is Hitting the Road
To grow, DonutNV needed a steady supply of delivery trailers. So last year, it started making them itself.
3 Steps to Find Your Perfect Franchise
There are many brands out there. Finding the right one is up to you.
This Fencing Franchise Is Ready for Growth
Superior Fence & Rail nearly doubled its sales in one year. How? By stepping back and focusing on fundamentals.
What Are a Franchisee's Role and Responsibilities?
If you're going to be a franchisee, you should know exactly what's expected of you.
This Dog-Training Franchise Is Zooming Ahead
After a rough few years, Zoom Room made major changes...and has emerged as a stronger, faster, very well-behaved business.
What's the Real Damage?
Most clean-up companies just fix messes, like fire or flood damage. But 911 Restoration's new CEO saw an opportunity to help with the other emergency they often encounter: customers' emotional trauma.
Mental Health Services, Franchised
The U.S. is facing a growing mental health crisis. Ellie Mental Health wants to be the solution.