It’s common, yes, and it’s grating to me. It’s grating to me because it’s generally used to mask emotional tone in a very tiresome “I’m totally not mad about whatever I’m about to say” way.
I have a tendency of seeing my conversations like a dialogue tree where I see all the ways what I’m saying could be confusing or upsetting so I’m constantly like softening/qualifying what I’m saying. It’s an attempt to ensure the exact meaning I’m trying to convey gets communicated without causing a distraction though upsetting people, but I’m not sure it works. I’ve been trying to notice these tics more to avoid the extra word count but obviously it’s still a struggle lol
I’m trying to wrap my brain around this and struggling. I use it as a garnish to make whatever I’m about to say more empathetic, especially if it’s going to sound harsh without a little window dressing. I don’t understand how you can possibly sprinkle it into virtually every sentence. but I’m also someone who rewrites entire comments if I’ve backed myself into a corner and have to reuse a word so I probably just have very different kinds of neuroses.
I am certain I have ways of talking (and writing) that have patterns of their own and repetitive phrasing, but my personal subjective experience is that people saying “honestly” out loud as a near-constant sentence opener makes people seem less honest and it annoys me.
If you want to be really mad I found this one recently and thought of you. I’m sorry. It’s peak Reddit brain, from someone who works in “loss prevention” at Target and is aghast that anyone would suggest that poverty is the ultimate cause of theft.
It’s almost like you’re a bot or lack comprehension skills.
ORC isn’t stealing food or toiletries. ORC is organized and systematic theft of merchandise for resell. Cosmetics, laundry detergent, razors, electronics, etc.
You telling me if we paid everyone more they wouldn’t steal an entire end cap of fragrance? Get a grip
That’s just how English speakers talk…
What am I speaking? I don’t feel the need, or even the urge, to start sentences that way.
Not everyone, sorry. It’s just a common pattern of speech.
It’s common, yes, and it’s grating to me. It’s grating to me because it’s generally used to mask emotional tone in a very tiresome “I’m totally not mad about whatever I’m about to say”
way.
In the UK 90% of the population starts every declaration with “at the end of the day”. You’d love it.
Honestly I do this one so often myself
I have a tendency of seeing my conversations like a dialogue tree where I see all the ways what I’m saying could be confusing or upsetting so I’m constantly like softening/qualifying what I’m saying. It’s an attempt to ensure the exact meaning I’m trying to convey gets communicated without causing a distraction though upsetting people, but I’m not sure it works. I’ve been trying to notice these tics more to avoid the extra word count but obviously it’s still a struggle lol
I used to say “honestly” a lot as a sentence opener too. It’s like an ex-smoker that really hates smoking.
I’m trying to wrap my brain around this and struggling. I use it as a garnish to make whatever I’m about to say more empathetic, especially if it’s going to sound harsh without a little window dressing. I don’t understand how you can possibly sprinkle it into virtually every sentence. but I’m also someone who rewrites entire comments if I’ve backed myself into a corner and have to reuse a word so I probably just have very different kinds of neuroses.
I am certain I have ways of talking (and writing) that have patterns of their own and repetitive phrasing, but my personal subjective experience is that people saying “honestly” out loud as a near-constant sentence opener makes people seem less honest and it annoys me.
embrace chaos and obsessively rewrite every sentence until you’ve removed all the unintentional repetition. or like be normal, or something.
If you want to be really mad I found this one recently and thought of you. I’m sorry. It’s peak Reddit brain, from someone who works in “loss prevention” at Target and is aghast that anyone would suggest that poverty is the ultimate cause of theft.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Target/comments/1636wi7/why_is_my_local_store_putting_everything_behind/jy1ypbs/
WHY DID I CLICK THE LINK