h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Might the meaning of the word "like" in "pop culture" usage not be so much an "um" or "er" word, but rather, meaning exactly how it is technically defined: similar to? "It was, like, two o'clock when he called me," is a popular usage, and it indicates that it was around two o'clock. Might not American teenagers simply be less assertive, less definite in their linguistics nowadays?

yeah thats how i use it. if i dont want to make a statement certain, then i will use 'like' and put 'or something' at the end of the sentence to make it less specific.

but it really annoys me when my friends use it instead of 'said';
and he was like...so i was like.... ARGH!! stop it now; you are not americans!