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So, I’m an accomplished language dork. So when I find an article about language in the world, like CNN’s about the use and overuse of the word “Absolutely,” I dig it. It’s not the deepest article; it’s four-hundred words of worthless fluff, and I wouldn’t be posting it were it not for the kicker at the end.
Context, first; the bulk of the article deals with the use of “absolutely” to convey “yes,” in a spirit of unerring certainty, but closes with this little rapid-fire reference.
Will constant use of the word, though, drain it of all of its meaning? Maybe.
A wise man once said, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no; anything beyond this is evil.”
Was he right?
Absolutely.
I wonder. Did our writer here know that the source of the saying is Jesus, and omit that? Or, more likely, is it just a phrase he’d heard somewhere, and thought appropriate?
