Everyone Knows. Obviously!

Everyone knows.
Obviously.

These are three words that should never be in copy – print, online or broadcast.

Everyone knows.
Really!

Does the writer know every single person knows everything about a type of music or designers, for example?

I don’t know about designers. I don’t know a lot about music – past or present – unless you include Disney tunes, Christmas music or musical soundtracks.

You should never assume someone knows something.

And then there is ‘obviously.’

‘She obviously voted for herself.’

Why is that obvious?
Maybe she had cold feet and decided she didn’t want to be elected and voted for the competition.

It’s not obvious because we don’t know what she did or what she is thinking.

While we are at, take out ‘of course’ when it precedes ‘everyone knows.’

‘Of course, everyone knows…’

See above for why this is a double yuck.