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The origin of "I know, right?"

AresProphetAresProphet Registered User regular
edited September 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
When did people start saying "I know, right?" in the exact same tone, everywhere? It's got to be some kind of meme people are imitating because it's always said the same way, and never with any obvious irony.

Have I missed out on some piece of viral pop culture or is it just the new "like"?

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Posts

  • EskimoDaveEskimoDave Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    It started off as local colloquialism in the very late 20th (twentieth) century. Then it spread better than cold butter to the monster that it is today.

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  • pogo mudderpogo mudder Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    t.v. probably had quite a lot to do with it as well. Think how many people watch a show like Gilmore Girls (EDIT: that show is fucking great)

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  • Dunadan019Dunadan019 Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I got money on 'Friends'.

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  • theSquidtheSquid Sydney, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Ya, me too.

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  • Hey AshtrayHey Ashtray Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I know, right?

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  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    It's just a response when someone makes a point you agree with. I don't know if it's a "thing"

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  • TheGreat2ndTheGreat2nd Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I know, right?
    idk my bff jill

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  • RazielRaziel Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Or the Canadian equivalent: "I know, eh?"

    My money's on coincidence. Otherwise that's the most infectiously banal catchphrase I've heard.

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  • theSquidtheSquid Sydney, AustraliaRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Raziel wrote: »
    Or the Canadian equivalent: "I know, eh?"

    My money's on coincidence. Otherwise that's the most infectiously banal catchphrase I've heard.

    Like, seriously.

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  • ronyaronya Arrrrrf. the ivory tower's basementRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    I lol'ed.

    Okay on topic. Apparently it's a line from the 2004 movie Mean Girls, or so the internets tells me.

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  • rfaliasrfalias Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    inorite?

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  • RazielRaziel Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    But was it coined by Mean Girls, or used to appeal to teenage girls lacking the filter between brain and mouth?

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  • VistiVisti Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Oh, shit. We did this whole fucking thing on the upwards inflection when I was studying english at uni.

    I don't remember a damn thing, though.

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  • ZombiemamboZombiemambo Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    It's like people use these...these words to say things

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  • DogDog Registered User, Administrator, Vanilla Staff admin
    edited August 2009
    I've been saying that since long before Mean Girls.

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  • DeathPrawnDeathPrawn Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    The earliest definition on Urban Dictionary is March 2003, which means one can safely guess it's been around for at least a year earlier than that.

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  • Richard M. NixonRichard M. Nixon regular
    edited August 2009
    robothero wrote: »
    I've been saying that since long before Mean Girls.

    ditto

    "I know, eh" has been pretty common in Canada for as long as I can remember and I think most people use I know, right, as well.

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  • TheGreat2ndTheGreat2nd Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Zombiemambo wrote: »
    It's like people use these...these words to say things

    And all my sentences like, end in an upward inflection? So everything sounds like, a question?

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  • firewaterwordfirewaterword Satchitananda Pais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2009
    It rolls off of the tongue better than: "Good gracious me, what a startling coincidence! It just so happens that I share a similar belief with regard to this topic of conversation."

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  • Ash of YewAsh of Yew Registered User regular
    edited August 2009
    Those were the first words I spoke as a baby.

    I think it is probably pretty old, and I don't think urban dictionary is a good judge. It's definately before Mean Girls. Kinda like the "Honestly, blah blah blah blah" thing.

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  • ChanusChanus Harbinger of the Spicy Rooster Apocalypse The Flames of a Thousand Collapsed StarsRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited August 2009
    I can remember it flitting about in the mid-90s like the gargling death rattle of Valley-Girlism.

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  • EverywhereasignEverywhereasign Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Interesting. We've had a big jump in usage of simply "Right?" with an upwards inflection since "How I Met Your Mother." We blamed that, but reading other posts, it seems the rabbit hole goes much deeper.

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  • FallingmanFallingman Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    robothero wrote: »
    I've been saying that since long before Mean Girls.

    It's your fault!

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  • LavaKnightLavaKnight Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I remember it growing up in the 80's/early to mid 90's.

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  • Sephris LorSephris Lor Registered User new member
    I can actually use my obscure knowledge on this one...The phrase itself has been around for hundreds of years, with the first notable use of it stemming from England. James Robert Cook was known to reply "I knoweth, yes?" concerning a Germanic attack that was coming. That phrase, because of the condescending nature it was spoken in, became a popular saying for a short time.

    Hundreds of years later, in the Silicon Valley area of California, the Valley Girl rekindled it, changing it to the "I know, right?", with the vocal influctions that we hear today. While not as directly stabbing as "Gag me with a spoon," it was used mostly to confirm the idiocy another person had seen. Ex: "Jeff just ate one of his toenails! Gag me with a bowl of toe jam!" "Oh God, I know, right?"

    So now you know the history behind the phrase. I hope it was worth learning.

  • SammyFSammyF Registered User regular
    While this is obviously the necromancy of a thread years old, I can't help but feel it's the best thread necromancy.

  • ShadowhopeShadowhope Baa. Registered User regular
    SammyF wrote: »
    While this is obviously the necromancy of a thread years old, I can't help but feel it's the best thread necromancy.

    Really? I mean, really?

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  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu PIGEON Registered User regular
    The best part is that @Geth awesome'd the necropost.

  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Geth is bound not by man or time.

This discussion has been closed.
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