This phrase has been surfacing more and more in articles recently, which I personally find quite disturbing. It is both unnecessary and wastes the readers time. I think the author is trying to convince you that the statement following "to be sure" is A MILLION PERCENT ACCURATE AND SURE. Well, it is either a fact or speculation, and facts have no variance so there is no need to shore it up any further. If it is speculation, you simply need to state that it is speculation. I think these authors are trying to be cute and act like they are better than they really are.
Let me give you an example:
Let's say you make the statement "To be sure, sharks are able to eat 80 buckets of chum". If you actually went out on a boat, threw in 80 buckets and they seemed full and content, then you need only say "Sharks can eat 80 buckets of chum". BUT, let's say that you only went out with 60 buckets, threw them out and the sharks were still banging against the boat wanting more. If you were convinced that they could eat at least 20 more buckets, you could only speculate and say "Sharks are capable of eating 60 buckets of chum and I speculate that they can eat at least 20 more buckets before being content". Typing "To be sure" before either of these statements does nothing to change the validity of either statement.
While on a literary rant, annother stupid thing that many people say is "irregardless, ....".
From Wiki...
The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the speculation among references is that it may be a blend of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created.
You need only say "regardless", so don't waste my time with illogical prefixes.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I personally make no claim to be a good writer as I am a product of the Louisiana school system. I make all sorts of pathetic mistakes in both grammar and spelling, so that tired phrase "Don't talk bad about other people unless you can do better yourself" does not apply. It never really applies since you are totally ok to insult other people for doing stupid things "regardless" of whether you can do better or not. The fact still remains that that person is doing stupid things. If you see a quarterback throw 10 interceptions in a row, you totally can say "that quarterback sucks" regardless if you can play football or not.
Another winner, Phil. "irregardless" drives me crazy, too, as does "alot" - since when is that ONE word? There's a ton of others. Pronouncing "nuclear" as "nu-KU-ler" is right up there. People who type in juvenile "text-speak" when using a full keyboard should be shot. When some one types "r" and "u" instead of "are" and "you", pronounce them as "urrrh" and "oooh" when you read it - makes them sound like the idiots they are.
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