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Last night on television, I heard a fictional character utter the word(s) “no-doubtedly†in the context of saying something like “John is no-doubtedly home.†I made my wife wait as I backspaced the DVR to listen to it a few times. A quick scan of the internet shows that “no-doubtedly†or “no doubtedly†or “nodoubtedly†appears commonly in blogs, tweets, myspace, boards, forums, and user reviews from both sides of the pond. I haven't yet found it in any more formal writing.
Frankly, I'm not sure if the television character's “no-doubtedly†came from the writers or the actor.
My guess is that this is an unfortunate muddling of “no doubt†and “undoubtedly.†In speech, a lot can happen. When used in writing, it sounds to me as if the author feels “no doubt†doesn't sustain quite the authority or education required for the factoid that is about to be pronounced. Their unfortunate choice subverts their intent.
Am I wrong to take away from its use that the user is trying unsuccessfully to elevate his speech or writing? Or am I simply being unkind?
There aren't many hits for "nodoubtedly" at Google Books (and most are OCR mistakes), but here's a usage from The Dog Crusoe and His Master, by Robert Michael Ballantyne (1894 edition here, originally published 1861?):
http://books.google.com/books?id=FVPRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA88&dq=nodoubtedly&lr=
Thank you for the great example. It is clear that Ballentyne is effectively painting a picture of nonstandard language here. The word “nodoubtedly†is, no doubt, being pressed into service to that end. I will continue fishing through formal writing: I would love to catch one on the line without an accompanying tongue in its cheek.
To throw a new wrinkle in, I also remember in my youth hearing the word “undoubtably.†While “undoubtably†has enjoyed approval in the past, perhaps distant past, it is now considered nonstandard or obsolete by many sources. Once again, the dictionary comments on my age. Now you know what I meant by “throw a new wrinkle in.â€
Also, let's not forget the option of “doubtlessly.†The word “doubtlessly†has never, to my knowledge, suffered the same shame as “hopefullyâ€: nobody is trying to force us to use it only in the rare circumstance to describe a person's outlook. I can still write “He marched doubtlessly into the wedding chapel. Doubtlessly, such insouciance was a serious concern to the entire family.†OK, maybe I can't really write them together like that, but I might not get drawn and quartered as I might for writing: “He marched hopefully out onto the street without an umbrella. Hopefully, he will reach home before it rains.†(Sadly, he did not reach home dry. He whispered sadly to his wife that he would need to buy new shoes.â€)
Martha Barnette
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