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Comment by carsongross | Hacker News Reader

OK, this is completely off topic, but this sentence start from the article jumped out at me:

It’s honestly a good question to ask

Why is it that so many people now start sentences with some variation of "honestly"? I see it in comments here on HN all the time, and in lots of tech blog posts.

Is there a new paper out on how this is effective rhetoric? Is it a regional tick I haven't figured out yet?

Honestly, I find it depressing that so many people feel the need to preface what they are saying with a declaration that they are not, in fact, lying to us.

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"Honestly" is used to add emphasis, to convey a sense of frankness and immediacy, and sometimes to suggest that the writer finds the statement to be an unpleasant but necessary truth. I think it's likely that you know all this already and are indulging in a bit of feigned surprise.

I have seen this specific complaint on HN several times lately. It's a figure of speech. It means "frankly." Your refusal to pick up on English language idioms -- illogical as they may be -- is, frankly, not interesting. Can we stop?

There's a fine line between idiom and annoying cliché. "Can we stop doing X" is another one.

You may find this simularity in the word "just".

"Let's stop overusing the word honestly." => "Honestly, let's just stop overusing the word honestly."

What is the purpose of "just" in the sentence? Is it a specifier of motivation? Was the task more complicated or difficult to grasp in a previous context? Could we just have a reason for it?

Interestingly, I'm a big fan of the word "interestingly" to start a sentence. It makes sure people understand that what I say is quite fascinating.

are many people really doing that?

honestly, perhaps it's some cognitive bias or frequency illusion.

To be honest, I can't tell. Maybe it's just me, honestly.

Perhaps it's the new "literally" ?

I have always thought this was code for “I was previously lying to you, but now I am telling you the truth”. I think not.

It's a verbal tick, a meaningless bit at the start of the sentence because the person feels uncomfortable starting the sentence right off and wants a bit of lead-in, or as a short pause for rhythm. Same thing with "basically" - I've seen people start basically every single sentence with "basically" when they're even a bit stressed.

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