| 词组 | thusly |
| 释义 | thusly Few words have a worse reputation among the arbiters of correct usage than thusly. Bernstein 1965 is relatively kind in his characterization of it: he calls it "superfluous." Most other critics have shown less leniency, typically describing it as nonstandard or illiterate. The Oxford American Dictionary states flatly that "thusly as a substitute for thus is always incorrect." The first recorded use of thusly is from 1865: • It happened, as J. Billings would say, 'thusly' —Harper's, December 1865 (OED Supplement) The "J. Billings" referred to is undoubtedly Josh Billings (real name, Henry Wheeler Shaw), an American humorist who became famous after the Civil War for his illogical, ungrammatical, and misspelled comic essays. The Harper's citation suggests that thusly was either coined by Billings for comic effect or was used by him in imitation of actual rustic speech. Other sources in our file indicate—although without substantiating evidence—that the word originated with Artemus Ward (real name, Charles Farrar Browne), another popular American humorist of the 19th century. It seems clear, in any case, that thusly as originally used was not a word to be taken seriously. The process by which thusly arose from its comic origins to an established, if not exalted, place in the vocabulary of English is not easily traced. There are a few citations from the late 1800s which show the word being used in what seems to be a straightforward way, but written evidence through the early decades of the 20th century is scanty. The first usage commentator to take note of it was Krapp 1927, who called it "facetious." H. L. Mencken, in The American Language, Supplement II ( 1948), also regarded thusly as a chiefly humorous word, although he noted an instance of its serious use in the Congressional Record in 1943. Citational evidence from the late 1940s and early 1950s shows that thusly was beginning then to appear more frequently in standard writing. In current English, thusly is probably still more likely to occur in speech than in writing, but its written use is by no means rare. One reason thusly has gradually been able to gain a secure foothold in the language is undoubtedly that it is used primarily in ways that are, to some degree, distinct from the principal uses of thus. As in the original Harper's citation, thusly almost always follows the verb it modifies: • I have the vision of a little old man ... who gives himself silent chuckles by seating people thusly — William F. Buckley, Jr., Esquire, September 1974 • After addressing his rod thusly, Charlie Bowman began to walk —Douglas Chadwick, Blair & Ketch-urns Country Jour., August 1981 Its most frequent use is as an introductory word proceeding a quotation or other passage set off by a colon: • ... the syllogism would apparently turn thusly: The United Nations is the sole bulwark of world peace. There can't be a United Nations with the Soviet Union —Vermont Royster, Wall Street Jour., 7 Dec. 1964 He also defends Chaplin's routine use of the camera and even those locomotive wheels, the former thusly: "Chaplin ... obviously believes that " — Dwight Macdonald, Esquire, April 1965 • ... introduced him to a colleague thusly: "This is George Foreman " —William Nack, Sports Illustrated, 22 Sept. 1980 • He was answered thusly by NOW head Eleanor Smeal: "The letter...." —Daniel Seligman, Fortune, 10 Aug. 1981 ... one of Harbaugh's plays was described thusly: • "Harbaugh, under a heavy rush " —Rick Telander, Sports Illustrated, 22 Sept. 1986 Of course, it is also possible to use thus in this way: The experimental psychologist generalizes thus: • "Interest in religion " —F. Ernest Johnson, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March 1953 But such use, while not rare, is relatively uncommon in modern English. Thusly appears to be appreciably more common than thus when the adverb follows the verb and precedes a colon (more common than either is a phrase such as "in this way"). On the other hand, thusly is rarely used in contexts where thus would normally be expected. When such use does occur, thusly may indeed seem badly out of place: • The white silent majority has been readied to hate the press as the author of Black ticker-tape radicalism. Thusly Nixon's slaughter program for the poor and Black ... —Leon Forrest, Muhammad Speaks, 16 Feb. 1973 • ... should occupy no more than 4000 cubic inches and thusly fit into a standard large suitcase —Gene Miller with Barbara Mackle, Ladies' Home Jour., May 1971 What these facts indicate is that, whatever its origins, thusly is not now merely an ignorant or comic substitute for thus: it is a distinct adverb that is used in a distinct way in standard speech and writing. Knowledge of the subtleties of its use may give you the courage to face down its critics, but if discretion, prudence, or faintheartedness compels you to shun it (or if you just dislike it), our advice is not to replace it automatically with thus but to consider instead a more natural-sounding phrase such as "in this way" or "as follows." |
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