I hardly ever say "on the one hand", but I use "on the other hand" all the time.
I would not describe the other words as equivalent, either. However, I could probably use them interchangeably. Nevertheless, they seem to have different connotations.
I'll be fine. I'll be your bounty, Jubal Early. And I'll just fade away.
River ,'Objects In Space'
Natter 56: ...we need the writers.
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
-t - Jan 02, 2008 2:56:09 pm PST #493 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
megan walker - Jan 02, 2008 2:59:29 pm PST #494 of 10001
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
The wording of your answers is cracking me up. Stop messing with my mind people! It's bad enough I spend half my day on these questions.
-t - Jan 02, 2008 3:05:06 pm PST #495 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
OK, specifically, OTOH seems like saying "here's an objection to that thing I just said, it didn't occur to me before, maybe I should rethink", however=but, nevertheless means "ignore anything to the contrary of what I'm about to say because this is what we're going to do".
That could just be me.
Laga - Jan 02, 2008 3:06:08 pm PST #496 of 10001
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
I don't think I've ever said, "on the one hand" but I do say, "on the other hand" quite a bit and "on the third hand" more often than my coworkers would probably like.
megan walker - Jan 02, 2008 3:09:59 pm PST #497 of 10001
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
I agree that "nevertheless" definitely gives off more of a "despite all that's gone before" vibe than the other two.
Like I said, I'm trying to give them a more precise idea of how it works, regardless of whether it would always be translated that way. "Conversely" is probably the most accurate, but that seems a bit stuffy.
Ginger - Jan 02, 2008 3:16:41 pm PST #498 of 10001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
I try to avoid what my father said frequently, which was "and on the other hand, he had warts." It runs through my head everytime someone says "On the one hand," though.
-t - Jan 02, 2008 3:17:20 pm PST #499 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
I like "conversely", probably because I am easily impressed by stuffiness.
I'll certainly agree that they're all pretty close and could be considered for inclusion in the same hypothetical spot in a sentence if you, say, felt like you were using "conversely" too much.
Which my brain is now trying to make mean "in the fashion of Chuck high tops".
Theodosia - Jan 02, 2008 3:19:02 pm PST #500 of 10001
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
I've always taken "on the other hand" as implying that what came before was on the first hand by default. (In C, the counting would start with the 0th hand.)
Yes, I am currently taking a break from programming class.
Jesse - Jan 02, 2008 3:22:10 pm PST #501 of 10001
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
"and on the other hand, he had warts."
Ha!
I'd say "on the other hand" for casual, "conversely" for fancy.
tommyrot - Jan 02, 2008 3:42:30 pm PST #502 of 10001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
I like "conversely", probably because I am easily impressed by stuffiness.
I wanna use "inversely." Or maybe "contrapositively."