How do you handle "You Know?"

[Drip]

After hearing Big Baby's interview showered with "you know" I am exhausted. When quoting someone, you're supposed to be accurate. How do you handle "you know" in a quote?

 

[MightyMouse]

i cut it and move on. completely unnecessary.

 

[CR19]

I agree with MightMouse. My personal rule on these type of phrases (Uh, You Know, etc.) is that if it is unnecessary and doesn't make an impact on the person's quote, I just cut it. Nothing to be lost in an article over a simple phrase, you know?

 

[Football_Bat]

I toss 'em all out the back door.

 

[smsu_scribe]

The only time I don't cut it is when it seems to add some feeling to the quote. For instance, maybe something like, "I just want a second chance, you know?" Or something like that. Tough to explain, but in some scenarios, it seems to add some emotion. Maybe nobody else hears it the way I do, and the phrase just clutters.

Very arbitrary method, I suppose. The simplest thing would be to cut it every single time.

 

[Boom_70]

You know - this is a good thread -- you know.

 

[bumpy mcgee]

You know - this is a good thread -- you know.

I, like, agree, you know?

 

[albert77]

Same with the word, "just." You know?

 

[Starman]

Several years ago, I found myself devolving into "you knows" with disturbing regularity. I started to slap myself in the face with skull-rattling force whenever I caught myself doing it. A couple bloody lips later, problem solved.

As far as what to do with it in stories, cut it out unless it is an actual functional part of the quote.

 

[John]

Jelena Jankovic might be the absolute worst at doing this. Here's part of a news conference transcript from the French Open:

Q. You just couldn't seem to find your way into the match there, huh?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The whole time I didn't really have a rhythm. Samantha played really well. She served well. Overall, you know, she played quite solid.
But, you know, I felt heavy on my feet. I didn't really move out there. You know, that resulted in a negative way on every shot, because especially on the return I didn't have a good reaction.
And then, you know, when I got into, you know, some of the points, when I had chances, I made, you know, bad mistakes. I just you know, it wasn't me. It wasn't my game out there. Unfortunately, I lost. She was the better player today.

Q. So was it nerves? I mean, second set you're up 2 0, 40 15 looked like maybe you had some kind of chance to get into it there.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I wasn't nervous at all.
I just maybe you know, I started the match, you know, kind of cold, maybe because, you know, that match, the first match finished quite quickly.
So we had like 10, 15 minutes to get ready. I got kind of into the match quite cold, and, you know, I had a tough time moving.
For some reason, I just never got into the match. You know, at 2 Love I had 40 15, but it's just sluggish, kind of.
You know, maybe it would have been maybe you know, would make, you know, some kind of difference if I led 3 Love. You never know.
But overall, I couldn't find my game out there. It was just difficult for me.

Q. You played her twice on hardcourts: Indian Wells, Miami. Can you just talk about the difference playing her on clay? It seems like everything she's hitting is pretty huge now.
JELENA JANKOVIC: She's a strong girl. You can see, you know, by looking at her physically. You know, she can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves, you know, in the women's game.
And especially, you know, for me, I have a good return. I always had and I never had kind of a problem, you know, returning these kind of big serves.
But I just you know, it's very important to have a good reaction, to react. I just fell flat. So every time, you know, I felt late. I felt like too far from the ball. I never hit a clean ball.
So that was a problem. And, you know, she took advantage of that. She won the match, and that is what counts.

(Even a reporter got into the act)

Q. A lot of players, including Pete Sampras, you know, have and Stefan Edberg at the US Open have kind of come to a moment at one point in their career where they said, you know, I'm better than this. I can't make excuses. I shouldn't be losing these matches. Does that ever play into your thinking, or do you think that's a legitimate question to ask yourself?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. You know, in this moment it's tough to say all this. But, you know, in this particular match today, I just I don't know what happened, but I just you know, she was the better player.
I mean, she did what she had to do. You know, she played her game. I wasn't even 20% of my ability, so that shows. When we played in Indian Wells and I was, you know, on my game, I was playing aggressively, I returned well. I won in two easy sets.
Today I was just I wasn't like myself. I don't even know who that was on the court.

Q. She's obviously a player who has been around for a while. As a singles player, a decent one but never one of the top 5 or 10 players. Now she's looking like she is beating Justine and Serena and you consecutively. How is she doing it? Are you surprised at the kind of leap that she's made?
JELENA JANKOVIC: To be honest, she kind of has like almost the game of a man. That's what it feels like. When I look at how the men play, she has kind of a similar she has a very good kick, which not many women can not women have. It's a very heavy, you know, spin.
And then, you know, she runs around the forehand. You know, she has that kind of, and, you know, it's showing. She's been very impressive the last I don't know how many months. She has had pretty good results.

Q. Sorry to ask, but who do you think would have a better chance in the final, Samantha or Francesca?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, so far, you know, I think Samantha has a very big chance. She played so well this tournament, and she has beaten, you know, I think the favorites of this tournament.
So I think she has a good chance. You know, she's playing very, very well. I think she'll do it.

 

[Drip]

Jelena Jankovic might be the absolute worst at doing this. Here's part of a news conference transcript from the French Open:

Q. You just couldn't seem to find your way into the match there, huh?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The whole time I didn't really have a rhythm. Samantha played really well. She served well. Overall, you know, she played quite solid.
But, you know, I felt heavy on my feet. I didn't really move out there. You know, that resulted in a negative way on every shot, because especially on the return I didn't have a good reaction.
And then, you know, when I got into, you know, some of the points, when I had chances, I made, you know, bad mistakes. I just you know, it wasn't me. It wasn't my game out there. Unfortunately, I lost. She was the better player today.

Q. So was it nerves? I mean, second set you're up 2 0, 40 15 looked like maybe you had some kind of chance to get into it there.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I wasn't nervous at all.
I just maybe you know, I started the match, you know, kind of cold, maybe because, you know, that match, the first match finished quite quickly.
So we had like 10, 15 minutes to get ready. I got kind of into the match quite cold, and, you know, I had a tough time moving.
For some reason, I just never got into the match. You know, at 2 Love I had 40 15, but it's just sluggish, kind of.
You know, maybe it would have been maybe you know, would make, you know, some kind of difference if I led 3 Love. You never know.
But overall, I couldn't find my game out there. It was just difficult for me.

Q. You played her twice on hardcourts: Indian Wells, Miami. Can you just talk about the difference playing her on clay? It seems like everything she's hitting is pretty huge now.
JELENA JANKOVIC: She's a strong girl. You can see, you know, by looking at her physically. You know, she can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves, you know, in the women's game.
And especially, you know, for me, I have a good return. I always had and I never had kind of a problem, you know, returning these kind of big serves.
But I just you know, it's very important to have a good reaction, to react. I just fell flat. So every time, you know, I felt late. I felt like too far from the ball. I never hit a clean ball.
So that was a problem. And, you know, she took advantage of that. She won the match, and that is what counts.

(Even a reporter got into the act)

Q. A lot of players, including Pete Sampras, you know, have and Stefan Edberg at the US Open have kind of come to a moment at one point in their career where they said, you know, I'm better than this. I can't make excuses. I shouldn't be losing these matches. Does that ever play into your thinking, or do you think that's a legitimate question to ask yourself?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. You know, in this moment it's tough to say all this. But, you know, in this particular match today, I just I don't know what happened, but I just you know, she was the better player.
I mean, she did what she had to do. You know, she played her game. I wasn't even 20% of my ability, so that shows. When we played in Indian Wells and I was, you know, on my game, I was playing aggressively, I returned well. I won in two easy sets.
Today I was just I wasn't like myself. I don't even know who that was on the court.

Q. She's obviously a player who has been around for a while. As a singles player, a decent one but never one of the top 5 or 10 players. Now she's looking like she is beating Justine and Serena and you consecutively. How is she doing it? Are you surprised at the kind of leap that she's made?
JELENA JANKOVIC: To be honest, she kind of has like almost the game of a man. That's what it feels like. When I look at how the men play, she has kind of a similar she has a very good kick, which not many women can not women have. It's a very heavy, you know, spin.
And then, you know, she runs around the forehand. You know, she has that kind of, and, you know, it's showing. She's been very impressive the last I don't know how many months. She has had pretty good results.

Q. Sorry to ask, but who do you think would have a better chance in the final, Samantha or Francesca?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, so far, you know, I think Samantha has a very big chance. She played so well this tournament, and she has beaten, you know, I think the favorites of this tournament.
So I think she has a good chance. You know, she's playing very, very well. I think she'll do it.

That's bad. I stopped counting Big Baby's you knows at 115. It was ridiculous.

 

[wissportsguy80]

Jelena Jankovic might be the absolute worst at doing this. Here's part of a news conference transcript from the French Open:

Q. You just couldn't seem to find your way into the match there, huh?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The whole time I didn't really have a rhythm. Samantha played really well. She served well. Overall, you know, she played quite solid.
But, you know, I felt heavy on my feet. I didn't really move out there. You know, that resulted in a negative way on every shot, because especially on the return I didn't have a good reaction.
And then, you know, when I got into, you know, some of the points, when I had chances, I made, you know, bad mistakes. I just you know, it wasn't me. It wasn't my game out there. Unfortunately, I lost. She was the better player today.

Q. So was it nerves? I mean, second set you're up 2 0, 40 15 looked like maybe you had some kind of chance to get into it there.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I wasn't nervous at all.
I just maybe you know, I started the match, you know, kind of cold, maybe because, you know, that match, the first match finished quite quickly.
So we had like 10, 15 minutes to get ready. I got kind of into the match quite cold, and, you know, I had a tough time moving.
For some reason, I just never got into the match. You know, at 2 Love I had 40 15, but it's just sluggish, kind of.
You know, maybe it would have been maybe you know, would make, you know, some kind of difference if I led 3 Love. You never know.
But overall, I couldn't find my game out there. It was just difficult for me.

Q. You played her twice on hardcourts: Indian Wells, Miami. Can you just talk about the difference playing her on clay? It seems like everything she's hitting is pretty huge now.
JELENA JANKOVIC: She's a strong girl. You can see, you know, by looking at her physically. You know, she can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves, you know, in the women's game.
And especially, you know, for me, I have a good return. I always had and I never had kind of a problem, you know, returning these kind of big serves.
But I just you know, it's very important to have a good reaction, to react. I just fell flat. So every time, you know, I felt late. I felt like too far from the ball. I never hit a clean ball.
So that was a problem. And, you know, she took advantage of that. She won the match, and that is what counts.

(Even a reporter got into the act)

Q. A lot of players, including Pete Sampras, you know, have and Stefan Edberg at the US Open have kind of come to a moment at one point in their career where they said, you know, I'm better than this. I can't make excuses. I shouldn't be losing these matches. Does that ever play into your thinking, or do you think that's a legitimate question to ask yourself?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. You know, in this moment it's tough to say all this. But, you know, in this particular match today, I just I don't know what happened, but I just you know, she was the better player.
I mean, she did what she had to do. You know, she played her game. I wasn't even 20% of my ability, so that shows. When we played in Indian Wells and I was, you know, on my game, I was playing aggressively, I returned well. I won in two easy sets.
Today I was just I wasn't like myself. I don't even know who that was on the court.

Q. She's obviously a player who has been around for a while. As a singles player, a decent one but never one of the top 5 or 10 players. Now she's looking like she is beating Justine and Serena and you consecutively. How is she doing it? Are you surprised at the kind of leap that she's made?
JELENA JANKOVIC: To be honest, she kind of has like almost the game of a man. That's what it feels like. When I look at how the men play, she has kind of a similar she has a very good kick, which not many women can not women have. It's a very heavy, you know, spin.
And then, you know, she runs around the forehand. You know, she has that kind of, and, you know, it's showing. She's been very impressive the last I don't know how many months. She has had pretty good results.

Q. Sorry to ask, but who do you think would have a better chance in the final, Samantha or Francesca?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, so far, you know, I think Samantha has a very big chance. She played so well this tournament, and she has beaten, you know, I think the favorites of this tournament.
So I think she has a good chance. You know, she's playing very, very well. I think she'll do it.

That's bad. I stopped counting Bib baby's you knows at 115. It was ridiculous.

This reminds me of when I interviewed Rickie Weeks a couple of years ago. Nice guy, but he loves his "you knows." I can't say much though, being a Wisconsinite, it's deep-rooted in my vocabulary, unfortunately.

 

[wissportsguy80]

Jelena Jankovic might be the absolute worst at doing this. Here's part of a news conference transcript from the French Open:

Q. You just couldn't seem to find your way into the match there, huh?
JELENA JANKOVIC: The whole time I didn't really have a rhythm. Samantha played really well. She served well. Overall, you know, she played quite solid.
But, you know, I felt heavy on my feet. I didn't really move out there. You know, that resulted in a negative way on every shot, because especially on the return I didn't have a good reaction.
And then, you know, when I got into, you know, some of the points, when I had chances, I made, you know, bad mistakes. I just you know, it wasn't me. It wasn't my game out there. Unfortunately, I lost. She was the better player today.

Q. So was it nerves? I mean, second set you're up 2 0, 40 15 looked like maybe you had some kind of chance to get into it there.
JELENA JANKOVIC: I wasn't nervous at all.
I just maybe you know, I started the match, you know, kind of cold, maybe because, you know, that match, the first match finished quite quickly.
So we had like 10, 15 minutes to get ready. I got kind of into the match quite cold, and, you know, I had a tough time moving.
For some reason, I just never got into the match. You know, at 2 Love I had 40 15, but it's just sluggish, kind of.
You know, maybe it would have been maybe you know, would make, you know, some kind of difference if I led 3 Love. You never know.
But overall, I couldn't find my game out there. It was just difficult for me.

Q. You played her twice on hardcourts: Indian Wells, Miami. Can you just talk about the difference playing her on clay? It seems like everything she's hitting is pretty huge now.
JELENA JANKOVIC: She's a strong girl. You can see, you know, by looking at her physically. You know, she can hit pretty big, and she has one of the strongest serves, you know, in the women's game.
And especially, you know, for me, I have a good return. I always had and I never had kind of a problem, you know, returning these kind of big serves.
But I just you know, it's very important to have a good reaction, to react. I just fell flat. So every time, you know, I felt late. I felt like too far from the ball. I never hit a clean ball.
So that was a problem. And, you know, she took advantage of that. She won the match, and that is what counts.

(Even a reporter got into the act)

Q. A lot of players, including Pete Sampras, you know, have and Stefan Edberg at the US Open have kind of come to a moment at one point in their career where they said, you know, I'm better than this. I can't make excuses. I shouldn't be losing these matches. Does that ever play into your thinking, or do you think that's a legitimate question to ask yourself?
JELENA JANKOVIC: I don't know. You know, in this moment it's tough to say all this. But, you know, in this particular match today, I just I don't know what happened, but I just you know, she was the better player.
I mean, she did what she had to do. You know, she played her game. I wasn't even 20% of my ability, so that shows. When we played in Indian Wells and I was, you know, on my game, I was playing aggressively, I returned well. I won in two easy sets.
Today I was just I wasn't like myself. I don't even know who that was on the court.

Q. She's obviously a player who has been around for a while. As a singles player, a decent one but never one of the top 5 or 10 players. Now she's looking like she is beating Justine and Serena and you consecutively. How is she doing it? Are you surprised at the kind of leap that she's made?
JELENA JANKOVIC: To be honest, she kind of has like almost the game of a man. That's what it feels like. When I look at how the men play, she has kind of a similar she has a very good kick, which not many women can not women have. It's a very heavy, you know, spin.
And then, you know, she runs around the forehand. You know, she has that kind of, and, you know, it's showing. She's been very impressive the last I don't know how many months. She has had pretty good results.

Q. Sorry to ask, but who do you think would have a better chance in the final, Samantha or Francesca?
JELENA JANKOVIC: You know, so far, you know, I think Samantha has a very big chance. She played so well this tournament, and she has beaten, you know, I think the favorites of this tournament.
So I think she has a good chance. You know, she's playing very, very well. I think she'll do it.

That's bad. I stopped counting Bib baby's you knows at 115. It was ridiculous.

This reminds me of when I interviewed Rickie Weeks a couple of years ago. Nice guy, but he loves his "you knows." I can't say much though, being a Wisconsinite, it's deep-rooted in my vocabulary, unfortunately.

But, to answer the thread's question, I just cut it out of the quote. As we can see in that transcript, it's redundant and not necessary.

 

[RedSmithClone]

Almost as redundant, you know, as if, you know, one were to, you know, hit quote to reply, you know, and leave the entire worthless transcript in said reply. You know?

 

[wissportsguy80]

Almost as redundant, you know, as if, you know, one were to, you know, hit quote to reply, you know, and leave the entire worthless transcript in said reply. You know?

Well, "Red," you know, I did make a mistake, you know. But, if I were you, you know, I wouldn't, you know, lose any sleep over it, you know?

 

[writingump]

I didn't get to see the interview of the artist known as "Big Baby," but Jankovic has broken my unofficial "you know" record of 28, previously held by Ralph Sampson. You know?

 

[Den1983]

i cut it and move on. completely unnecessary.

As do I. I've never used "you know" in a quote, and I edit it out if one of my reporters do.

 

[bob]

Second behind y'know: "obviously." I'm hearing that a lot. And, obviously, it's unnecessary in most cases.

 

[SF_Express]

This, of course, goes back to the whole "cleaning up quotes" debate, and there are sharp divides on what people thing. AP says never do it in the stylebook -- and obviously does it all the time. I'm in the "clean them up within reason" camp, and think "you know" falls in that category.

 

[Harry Doyle]

Personally, I like you know.