The initialism1 IMHO stands for "in my humble opinion". It's commonly used in text-based communication (chat clients, forums, popular Q&A platforms). Here's an example:
Person A: What do you think about implementing this new feature
request?Person B: The cost for that change outweighs the relatively minor
benefit IMHO.
I feel that:
- On one hand, mentioning one's own humility seems a bit…ironic (or possibly even sarcastic), which is rude.
- On the other hand, it's possible that, for most people, this reads the same as "IMO" (in my opinion) – which sounds more neutral, and thus is not rude.
Is "IMHO" a rude thing to say (or type)? Why or why not?
I'd appreciate answers with facts, references, or significant personal experiences if possible (as opposed to just opinions), as I realize this is somewhat subjective.
1: I just learned this word today!
Best Answer
I'd say that, unless other nearby content points to definite sarcasm, the phrase "in my humble opinion" should generally be taken as being sincere.
The definition of humble includes an example of the phrase as being "courteously respectful". There's a latin phrase, "ut humiliter opinor", which translates as "in my humble opinion", which would indicate that the phrase is quite old and has been used for a long time (though I haven't researched this, it could well be pseudo-Latin for all I know, like "non illegitimi carborundum" ;-) ).
The phrase is used in modern writing; for instance, there's a quote by Dumbledore in the Harry Potter books that goes something like “Words are, in my humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic.” (I suppose one could argue that Dumbledore has little to be humble about, but I'd certainly interpret this instance as being sincere.) It might be interesting if anyone knows of examples in "older" literature.
Having said that, in its abbreviated form, "IMHO" or "imho" as used in informal writing, emails, social media, etc., there may well be a higher percentage of sarcastic usage, but again I think this would largely depend on the context and one should assume sincerity unless there are other indicators of sarcasm.
I would suggest (though some may well disagree) that its usage in informal writing is quite similar to the phrase "my two cents", i.e. saying "here's my opinion, take it for what it's worth or feel free to ignore it". (Though this phrase always strikes me as being ironic because, in Australia, we round money to the nearest five cents, so two cents are essentially "worthless".)