To think that using "absolutely" instead of a plain old "yes" is annoying..?

[TDHManchester]

I truly think it it more of a London/Home Counties thing as i have not really noticed its use anywhere further north than Watford.

It's seen a lot in the media also. Someone is asked a question and the respondent starts the reply.."Absolutely".

I would put it in the same category of conversational annoyances as "literally" and "basically".

Yabu, imo it's not annoying. It's a more emphatic and enthusiastic than plain old 'yes'. And also if you are answering quite a few questions in the affirmative then 'yes' can sound curt or disinterested.

Absolutely, unequivocally and categorically not.

It serves a purpose. Just don't overuse it.

I say this.

I am as northern as you can get.

It really grates on me. I always have to fill it in with 'right', absolutely right, or else it feels unfinished. So YANBU

In the same way that ‘super’ has replaced ‘very’? I love it!

But isnt it a regional peculiarity? A bit London and Essex?

If i heard it up here in Manchester i'd probably prick my ears up..

What do people in Manchester say when they want to say "yes" but more strongly?

"Definitely"?

I hear it often 'across the border' in Yorkshire, OP. Perhaps it's just the Lancastrians who don't like it .

Hadn't noticed it being over-used.
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I worked with someone who always answered either,
"Affirmative," or "Roger that!" when a simple yes would have done; made my teeth itch.

I get the feeling people just say.. yes. The only person in my circle who uses absolutely is an ex pat from London.

Are they perhaps not very enthusiastic about the things you are suggesting?

I'm from Manchester and say absolutely, I don't find it annoying at all. There are other words that really annoy me but think we all have things that grate on our nerves which are personal to us

Americans use it a lot too. I was there earlier this year and I ordered a latte and the guy said ‘absolutely’ when I ordered it, which I thought was a weird response...I was actually thinking about this overuse yesterday as I was listening to some US podcasts and the people in those said it way too many times too, and out of context. YANBU!