I revere the late and lamented Jack Kilpatrick, author of two weekly syndicated columns that I read for years. I enjoyed both Following the Courts and The Writer's Art. But occasionally I made free to disagree with him on some of his opinions in the latter. One of them is about "arguably".
A recurring theme in his columns was the proposed elimination of wishy-washy words that modify without actually saying anything. To write that a play is "rather good" is not to say very much about it: Why not just say it's good? What does "rather" add? The same for "pretty good" and a few others.
Now, I haven't agreed to expunge those words from my vocabulary; I'm 'way too cautious with my praise, and my condemnation, and hardly ever say something is good or bad without lots of hedging and qualification. It's a character flaw, I'm sure. But I have taken the message to heart, tried to notice that I overuse such words and to use them less.
But he felt the same way about "arguably". Personally I have no quarrel with this word. It's true that commentators can mask their own opinions and complaints, pretending that they're only quoting others, when they use this word and others:
"But sir, what do you say to those who claim you're only trying to...?"
"The President said he never gave that order. Nevertheless, questions remain...."
You get the idea; we hear it all the time, and I despise such mealy-mouthed dishonesty. But it seems to me there is a place to say that so-and-so is arguably the most capable candidate, or that arguably such-and-such a proverb has done more harm than good. It doesn't mean (at least when I use it) that I believe it's true; it means that I think the argument can be made, that it might be true, that I'm willing to think about it.
Comments? It's not of huge import, I just have been meaning to bring it up for a while to see whether I'm alone.
There is some such fluff that annoys me, like "We will be meeting to discuss..." instead of "We will meet to discuss...". I don't police it when speaking, but I try to weed it out of my writing. (Mainly because the length of a written report is inversely proportional to the probability that anyone in management will read it).
Many attorneys and politicians are practiced in qualifying their speech as a way to raise and dismiss a question in the same breath. e.g.: "Now, you're not on trial for being a low-life scumball, but ..." or "The defense would never think to question the honesty of the arresting officer..." or "I won't speak negatively about my opponent's record on education..." Whether you loathe it or hate it, it has a use and is here to stay.
telemath said:
There is some such fluff that annoys me, like "We will be meeting to discuss..." instead of "We will meet to discuss...".
You are not liking when people are using progressive tenses? I am thinking that you have never been working around people who have been learning their English in India.
(Assimilation works both ways. When our office filled up with contractors fresh from India, I expected to see them adopt American speech and gesture patterns over time. What surprised me was when the Anglo-Irish guys from Nebraska started using present progressive for everything and nodding in figure-eights.)
Bob, yes lots of time they are pretentious, but, arguably, they have utilities that are hard to fulfill any other ways.
"Rather good" says that I have considered other good things too, not just this one.
'Arguably' says that I know this fact is not firm, but I know there is some good case to make for it.
"But sir, what do you say to those who claim you're only trying to…?" - This one says there are lots of opinions against you, but I want to be fair an give you a chance.
"The President said he never gave that order. Nevertheless, questions remain…." - This one says I am impartial and just reporting the point of view of both sides.
People do abuse and overuse them, but when you need to say things that they say, it's hard to find better forms.
Bob,
I was searching for mealy-mouthed and your post about arguably came up. I've never heard anyone but my Dad use it in the 1950-1960's and I've never seen a formal definition. Would you say it means wishy-washy? Do you know where it comes from?