Few phrases annoy me more than “it goes without saying”. If it goes without saying, you don’t need to say that. We’re all busy people. Get to the point.
You could make a weak argument that “it goes without saying” (and its equally irritating sibling, “it should go without saying”) is being used for emphasis, or for rhythmic effect. That’s rarely the case though. It’s more often blather, inserted by someone who hasn’t bothered to read over their work afterwards.
Take this sentence from CBS News, which showed up when I searched for “it goes without saying” on Google News today:
It goes without saying that a great place to beat the heat is the beach, but officials shared safety concerns Monday due to hundreds of weekend rescues and shark sightings.
The same point can be made more effectively without the bloat:
As locals flock to beaches to beat the heat, officials shared safety concerns Monday due to hundreds of weekend rescues and shark sighting.
You can create emphasis more concisely with “obviously” or “clearly” or “evidently”. But even that might not be needed.
Any time you use this phrase, ask yourself: would the meaning change if I deleted it? Does adding that phrase make the sentence read better? The answer to both questions will be “no” most of the time.
Mind Your Language is an occasional series where I provide nit-picking advice on writing. Language always changes and evolves, but that doesn’t mean anything goes.
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