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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) - When it comes to phrases that annoy, it looks like it's "whatever" forever.
Pollsters at Marist College in Poughkeepsie (poh-KIHP'-see), N.Y., found that Americans considered "whatever" to be the most annoying word or phrase in conversation for a fifth straight year.
Thirty-eight percent of adults polled said "whatever" was most annoying in conversation, followed by "like" at 22 percent and "you know" at 18 percent. Bringing up the rear were "just sayin,'" and "obviously."
The telephone poll of 1,173 adults living in the continental United States was conducted Dec. 3 through Dec. 5 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.
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