"Real Quick"

Language and how people grow attached to certain ways of speaking is interesting. I think people like the sense of belonging to the group so much that they take ownership of expressions which don't necessarily express what they really mean to say. Lately, I have become rather irked with the adverbial phrase "real quick."

Example: "Let me [insert any verb here] real quick."

Quite often, what the speaker really means to say is "I am not comfortable enough with you to say I don't have the time or want to talk with you, so I am going to interrupt you in this culturally acceptable passive-aggressive fashion."

Or, "I suffer from ADD because I am constantly forced to multi-task and cannot carry on a conversation without digressing."

In any case, when I hear someone say "real quick," I sense that they don't really mean that they want to do something in a timely manner. "Real quick" is an interrupter disguised as an apology. I hear it almost daily, and people seem to say it without realizing it.

Perhaps the most annoying thing about "real quick" is that I increasingly hear myself say it. Bummer!