Doesn't "he is basically honest" usually imply some sort of "but" afterwards.

I used to write annual appraisements and that was the sort of phrase that could cause sparks to fly.

>So should 'fundamentally,' 'chiefly,' 'inherently,' and 'essentially' be avoided as well?
>
>I disagree. If you say:
>
>"He is honest"
>
>that is not the same as saying:
>
>"He is basically honest"
>
>The latter describes his nature.
>
>
>>Tamar,
>>
>>You say:
>>
>>Avoid the word "utilize." There's no situation in which "utilize" is a better choice than "use."
>>
>>also while you're at it could you add to the article:
>>
>>Avoid the word "basically." There's no situation in which "basically" makes any difference to the sense of the sentence.
>>
>>
>>>>The moronic rule of thumb would appear to be "if the sentence requires a pronoun, replace it with one of those pronouns with 'self/selves' on the end"
>>>
>>>Yeah, drives me nuts, too. Here's what I have about this on my website (http://www.tomorrowssolutionsllc.com/writingtips.htm):
>>>
>>>Don't abuse the "self" words. These words ("myself," "yourself," etc.) belong in a sentence only if the corresponding pronoun has already appeared. For example, this is correct:
>>>
>>>"I'll take care of it myself."
>>>
>>>But this is wrong:
>>>
>>>"He had a meeting with John and myself."
>>>
>>>That should be:
>>>
>>>"He had a meeting with John and me."
>>>
>>>Tamar