A recent poll asked Americans what the most annoying phrase they’ve heard is, and 47% of respondents answered “whatever”. It is believed that this is the actual phrase they found annoying, and not just a dismissive response to the question.

Other candidates for most irritating phrases: "you know" netted 25 percent of the vote; "it is what it is" got 11 percent; "anyway" got 7 percent; and "at the end of the day" ended the day with 2 percent.

Some geographic tendencies also emerged. "Whatever," for example, is more loathed in the Midwest - where it annoys 55 percent of respondents - than it is in the Northeast, where it bothers 35 percent.

Link -via Simply Left Behind

(image credit: Flickr user Shiny Things)