Ostensibly... doesn't mean this
A reviewer over at amazon.com says this:
Presented as the journal of Jane Sagan (ostensibly a character in the aforementioned series), The Sagan Diary is written in a very stream-of-consciousness form, which makes it difficult to follow at first, but ends up making the character very engaging, as we get to see Jane Sagan with all of her vulnerabilities and with her guard down."Ostensibly a character"? Jane Sagan is very definitely a character in the series.
As with "the erstwhile Fraser", I don't even know what this commenter thinks ostensibly means...
Labels: language
2 Comments:
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At 9:46 AM, June 04, 2009
Barry Leiba had this to say...
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At 1:01 PM, June 04, 2009
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
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<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->No, I think it works, but you omitted the reviewer's first paragraph, in which he says he hasn't read the series, and "didn't know what to expect" from this book.
"Ostensibly" usually has the connotation of pretense, but it doesn't have to; it can mean "apparently" or "evidently". Substitute one of those in the bit you quoted, keeping in mind that the writer is unfamiliar with the series, and I think it's OK. [That said, I'd avoid it here because of the usual connotation.]
By the way, on re-reading the Brendan Faser bit, I think the word to replace "erstwhile" might be "estimable".
I must say I've never seen that meaning for "ostensibly". But I certainly don't know every meaning for every word - don't even know one meaning for a whole lot!
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