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Subject:Re: Responsible use of `obviously' From:"Chet W. Cady" <cady -at- OCLC -dot- ORG> Date:Tue, 12 Oct 1993 13:24:44 -0400
I think the key is =responsible= use of the word. Sometimes
you may want to write about A and C, but you need to
mention B so readers aren't disoriented. In this case,
I don't think writers are necessarily condescending when
they write, "And obviously B--so C."
Writers may be giving information that is a necessary bridge
between A and C, and if B is bone-headedly obvious by itself
(though not necessarily in connection with A and C), can you
blame writers for sticking in `obviously' as if to say,
"I know that =you=, dear readers, know that this is obvious, but
I don't want you to think I am a moron for unknowingly stating
the obvious. Nor do I want you to think that I think =you=
don't think it's obvious, even though I don't want you
to miss touching on B after you step off of A and before
you alight on C." It's a sort of wink between the writer and the
readers, just to be sure everyone is following.
This is quite a different case from using `obviously' to
mean "take my word for it."
