But I realized that many students either didn't think the obvious thing was really that obvious, or maybe realized it but were reticent to follow that path because it invoved some tedious work and the prof said it was easy, so that couldn't be it.
Many students were also intimidated by that word, as if I were saying to them "if you don't find this easy, you shouldn't be here".
So I went on a deleting spree, removing most instances of "easy", "simple", and "just a matter of", and replacing them with a clearer explanation of what to do. My notes got better as a result. Less filler, less intimidation, more useful details.