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'Whatever' Was Still Annoying In 2017, But 'Fake News', 'No Offense' Not Far Behind

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — People who say "whatever" were still considered annoying this year, but apparently not nearly as much as in 2016, researchers said Tuesday.

For the ninth year in a row, the word "whatever" has been ranked as the most annoying word or phrase used in casual conversation by 33 percent of Americans, down from 38 percent last year, according to a new Marist Poll.

But it turns out Americans under the age of 45 don't find the dismissive saying nearly as irksome as their older counterparts: 40 percent of the 45-and-over crowd say "whatever" leads the pack of annoying words and phrases, compared with 28 percent of those under 45 who say the phrase "No offense, but..." is the most annoying.

The Trumpian - or is it Clintonian? - phrase "fake news" earned second place with 23 percent, followed by "no offense, but" (20 percent), "literally" (11 percent), and "you know what I mean" (10 percent).

"Since 2015, we have seen a narrowing between 'whatever' and the rest of the list," says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "It has been more than 20 years since 'whatever' first gained infamy in the movie Clueless. While the word irks older Americans, those who are younger might not find 'whatever' to be so annoying."

Click here to see the complete results of the poll.

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