Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

captain obvious

/ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.44 in modern English

Syllables: cap-tain ob-vi-ous
IPA: /ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/

23

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

4

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Someone who makes superfluously obvious statements or who has just made one.

Derogatory; Humorous

Example Sentences

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!"
"1994, L. E. Blair, Drummer Girl (Girl Talk series, vol. 12), Golden Books Publishing, →ISBN, page 33, "But you're a girl," the guy said in surprise. This guy was getting on my nerves. "You are Captain Obvious, aren't you?" I shot back."
"Text links, by their very nature, contain text (thank you, Captain Obvious)."
"The larger of the two specifications is known as Wide SCSI-2 because it's wider (Captain Obvious rides again)."
"The Qiana-wearing slacker next to me poked me on the shoulder and said, "We totally knew it was you in the bathroom!" Well, thank you, Captain Obvious, I thought."
"Hold the camera properly. No, I'm not playing Captain Obvious here, but there is a certain way to hold a DV camera to avoid jittery movement."

Etymology

The title was humorously given to a U.S. Army veteran in 1926, but did not become popular until the early 1990s.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/
British English: /ˌkæptɪn ˈɒbviəs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Captains Obvious (plural) Cap'n Obvious (alternative, informal)

Phrases

no duh no shit Queen Anne's dead surprise surprise water is wet where's the lie

Frequently Paired Words

duh no duh no shit Queen Anne's dead Sherlock surprise surprise water is wet where's the lie

Synonyms

master of the obvious

Questions

How do you pronounce captain obvious?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/.
What does captain obvious mean?: Someone who makes superfluously obvious statements or who has just made one.
Where does captain obvious come from?: The title was humorously given to a U.S. Army veteran in 1926, but did not become popular until the early 1990s.

How to pronounce captain obvious

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “captain obvious”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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