246 Two Politeness Parentheticals
b. What a medium to work in, for a man tired, perplexed among different
aims and subjects, and spurred by the immediate need of ‘siller’ [silver]!
However, it’s mine for what it’s worth ; (1868– 94 Stevenson, Letters
[CLMET3.0])
c. Perhaps you will take my advice, and perhaps you won’t, but there it is for
what it’s worth as that of a man of the world and an old friend of your fam-
ily. (1908 Haggard, The yellow god [CEN])
d. Now let me give you my advice – for what it may be worth ( 1911 Ward,
The case of Richard Meynell [CEN])
e. tradition must be followed for what it may be worth , except so far as evi-
dent inaccuracies appear in it (1911 Morton, A history of Highland county,
Virginia [books.google.com/ books?isbn=0806379634])
f. You have my support for what it’s worth (1933 Cozzens, The last Adam
[COHA])
The fi rst parenthetical examples – apart from one early example (22a) – do not
occur until the early twentieth century. In these instances, it is not referential
but functions as an empty subject of is :
(22) a. And let me unc[o] ver part of this photograph by adding, for what it is
worth in the interest of simple truth, Mose Evans had eaten his breakfast
just before! (1874 Atlantic Monthly [COHA])
b. I think it may be interesting to American readers if I give them, for what
it is worth , the deductions that I have drawn concerning disarmament and
kindred subjects (1921 Atlantic Monthly [COHA])
c. it is said that Somerville, New Jersey, now holds ( for what it is worth ) the
record for having quartered more journalists to the square foot than any
other place in the world. (1926 New Yorker [COHA])
d. For what it is worth , I give my impression of this crisis of faith (1934
Harpers [COHA])
e. it can be reported today, for what it is worth , that the mood is earnest on all
sides. (1945 New York Times [COHA])
While for what it is worth is syntactically mobile in the examples in (22), in
(20) it is fi xed in position. In (21), for what it is worth may often be moved
to the beginning of the sentence, but doing so alters the meaning of the sen-
tence. For example, the most obvious interpretation of (21f) is ‘You have my
support – for whatever value that support may be.’ Moving for what it’s worth
to initial position would give the preferred reading of ‘You have my support –
for whatever good having my support will do you.’ This is discussed in more
detail below.
Historically, the occurrence of for what it is worth as an adverbial adjunct
modifying a communicative clause is occasionally, but rarely attested.
(23) a. For what it is worth , I give my impression of this crisis of faith, (1934
Harpers [COHA])