15 March 2006
Go like I went
In popular speech, especially of younger people (pick your generational moniker), I have heard for many years forms of the verb go. Examples are:
“I went, ‘You are crazy!’ and he went, ‘I am not!’”
During the past few years it is amazingly common to hear forms of the combination be like. I recently heard a young woman at work say:
“So I’m like, ‘You’ve been smoking.’ And he was like, ‘I was not!’”
Where do these usages come from?
