Irksome

The CD player in my car is buggered and I can't afford to get it fixed right now, so I've been listening a lot to ABC Sydney (UK readers: think a lightweight Radio 4 meets local radio). I've been getting irrationally irate at some of the verbal tics that every interviewee seems to have.

The tendency to say "absolutely" instead of, say, "yes" has been around for a while now, but it seems to me to be getting worse. People use it when the word has no meaning whatsoever, which irks me greatly.

"So the coach has chosen player x over player y for the big match?"
"Absolutely, Adam."

The new one is the habit of beginning the response to any question by saying "look" followed by a slight pause. I first noticed the habit in my father-in-law, though I doubt that it originates with him. It's probably just a way of playing for time while formulating a coherent answer, but it's ubiquitous now.

Today I heard my first "Look...absolutely". It didn't take me long to formulate my brief, monosyllabic response.