There are a couple of words that, when used, usually piss me off because of the tone that seems to come with them. I call this class of words the "jerk words" because they seem dismissive and arrogant. Words like "obviously" and "clearly". It's clichÈ, but what's obvious to one person is not to another. I don't believe that it's from lack of intelligence (in all cases), but more often from the different backgrounds and experiences that people have had in their lives. Obviously people like to use big words, but clearly it makes them sound like an ass.
The funniest thing: if it was actually clear to everyone involved, why the hell is anyone explaining it? The very act of explaining things using the jerk words means that the issue was not obvious.
*deep breath out*
My favourite is when someone starts an explanation with "Basically..." -- like a) I wouldn't be able to understand a more thorough explanation or b) they don't want to bother taking the time to explain it properly. I'm not sure which implication is worse. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're not doing someone a favour when you give them the "Basically..." answer.