Today started like any other work day. I arrived 15 minutes late because I needed to grab an iced coffee, fired up my computer, and started scouring the internet for something to write about.
But then my day went absolutely topsy-turvy. One of my coworkers posited the question, "What does the acronym IMHO stand for?" Turns out, there are not one...but TWO answers.
In one corner we have the people who say "In my HUMBLE opinion."
And in the other, we have those who say "In my HONEST opinion."
Because I'm a messy bitch who lives for drama, I decided to ask my coworkers to tell me what they think the "H" in "IMHO" means, and write their most spirited defense. Here are their answers.
Andy, Team Humble
OK, "in my honest opinion" isn't even a phrase. When have you ever said "in my honest opinion," out loud, in conversation? The answer is never. If you want to give your honest opinion, use TBH. That's why we have it. It's clearly "in my humble opinion," and I have the GOOGLE DATA TO PROVE IT.
Lara, Team Honest
I just...where do I even begin?? Why in the world would it be humble? What is this, 1968? Who says 'humble' in everyday conversation? Also, who do you think you are? In the age of social media, everyone lies about everything. That's why IMHO exists and CLEARLY means in my honest opinion. No one cares about your "humble" opinion. We want honesty. IMHO, this whole thing is insane. It means HONEST. THE END, TBH.
Pablo, Team Humble
In my humble opinion, it’s fucking humble. And don’t just take it from me, take it from very credible source (it’s not) urbandictionary.com. I feel like 99% of the time someone says IMHO, they’re giving an unsolicited opinion. If you need proof just look at my Grindr DMs. And because they’re giving me their garbage opinion, they find the need to downplay the seriousness of this opinion by trying to appear “humble” or “modest” even though we all know they’re not. Now, while this seems cruel in theory, the opposite is even worse. If you try and say it means “honest,” you’re proving that every other opinion of yours that isn’t preceded by “honest” is rooted in LIES and like inspirational speaker Tiffany “New York” Pollard once said, you’re ALL fraudulent.
Shyla, Team Honest
It’s HONEST. I don’t care what other people say. My mom asked me the definition and that’s what I told her. I’m not about to admit that I’m less hip than a 53-year-old. BYE.
Stephen, Team Humble
First of all, i resent even calling this a "debate," because you cannot debate cold, hard facts. The "H" in "IMHO" stands for "HUMBLE," and that is simply a fact! How do we know this? First of all, "in my humble opinion" is a relatively common turn of phrase. "In my honest opinion" is not a thing at all. Secondly, the TOP FOUR DEFINITIONS on Urban Dictionary use the word "humble." These definitions are voted on by the people, and to ignore them is to spit in the face of democracy. Anyone who thinks it's "honest opinion" is being anything but honest, and I have no time for your alternative facts.
And finally, ME (Sam), Team Honest
Does whether or not someone's opinion is humble affect its quality? NO, JUST ASK KANYE WEST. However, I *DO* care about whether or not the opinion you're offering me is honest or not! I can't believe we're even having this argument. I bet all these "humble" people like pineapple on their pizza, too.
Where do you stand on this very controversial issue? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.
