Honestly

[TiredYorkshireMam]

Not generally one to let figures of speech etc get to me, but is anyone else getting irritated with the overuse of "honestly" on MN and social media?

I'm guessing it's used just as a filler word because it really adds nothing to the sentence. It's often added onto the start of the sentence, sometimes in the middle.

It seems to have replaced "I mean...", which I suppose can only be a good thing.

I'm not all that keen on "To be perfectly honest..." either.

It always makes me wonder whether the speaker is generally so dishonest that they have to make a point of saying that, on this occasion, they are being honest!

Yes, it just seems wholly unnecessary, doesn't it.

@TiredYorkshireMam , I've never heard of 'honestly' meaning anything other than 'truthfully' , as in " I honestly like your new dress" , "Honestly, I have to leave now to catch the train".

Could you give an example where it has been used instead of 'I mean' ?

Ah, sorry, I didn't mean it's been used to replace the meaning of "I mean".

I meant it has been used as a filler word to replace the overuse of "I mean".

It still does mean "truthfully" but it's being added onto the start of a huge number of sentences when really there is no need for it.

So many posts on here now start with it.

For example, "does everybody iron their socks?"

"Honestly, I don't bother."

Previously would see a lot of "I mean, I don't bother."

Neither really mean anything.

As a stand alone example it's not very notable, but when you start to notice it constantly it can start to grate.

To be perfectly honest with you, I've literally not noticed.
Honestly, have you nothing better to think about?