Ways to replace the phrase "after all?"
I recently noticed I use "after all" very often. But unlike other phrases, I never seem to find a way to replace it. Some examples:
Like the books, they hadn't moved a single inch. Erin found this strange. Even the tiniest shaking would have been enough shift their position. Aluminum was as light as feather after all.
Eri knew clearly what it was. But she couldn't make herself bring up the topic. To her, it was like a shapeless creature moving in the dark. An adversary she wanted to avoid at all cost. Because, after all, how could you fight something that didn't have a definite form?
“Now I finally see that God didn't approve our marriage. You're a Buddhist after all, and He clearly didn't want us to be together. Somehow I knew it all along. Yet I still decided to go against Him.
"I know you're worried about your mother. After all, this is the first time you're dealing with something like this.
How could the passages above be rewritten in order to avoid "after all"?
(By the way, this is 9000 word short story. And "after all" is used four times. Maybe that isn't so bad?)
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1 answer
As a reader, it doesn't add much, if anything. Note that all the same meaning is still conveyed in your examples when "after all" is removed.
It's one of those content-free words or phrases people say, but that don't really mean anything. When used sparingly and in the right context, it can give an additional emotional feel, but that's about it.
The reason you can't seem to find a replacement is that the original has no real meaning in the first place. Anything you try to replace it with does have some meaning, altering what is said at least a bit.
It's just fluff, after all.
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