The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #43581   Message #640198
Posted By: Deda
01-Feb-02 - 04:06 PM
Thread Name: BS: Great Misquotations
Subject: RE: BS: Great Misquotations
Here is the problem with "Hopefully"; it should mean "done in a hopeful way" but it is usually used to mean "it is to be hoped" or "I hope". This is because we have no such word as "hope-ably". So it is correct to say, "She winked at him hopefully", but not "Hopefully the rain will stop soon". However, the Language Experts who decide about these things have pretty much given up on this one; William Safire now accepts it as meaning "one hopes".