I do remember one book on style that considered the phrase pretentious. I also remember trying to describe a certain pain in my hand to a doctor using the phrase and watched him pause for a moment as he decoded the meaning of the (?)double negatives(?). In its defense, “not unlike” and “like” present a very subtle but distinctly different connotation imo. While I might not name my book “Not Unlike Water For Chocolate,” it does seem to have it’s uses. “Not unlike” implies to me a lesser degree of similarity than “like.” It’s sort of like an “if you put a gun to my head” comparison that uses six less words. Anyway I’d be curious of your opinion as a Strunk, White, or General Economic Facillitator of Ideas.
It is a double negative, so strictly speaking it’s probably a no-no, but I tend to use it a lot, especially in a speculative sense, where ‘like’ would be a little too strong.
(“some of the odd effects observed in the field of quantum physics are not unlike those we might expect to see in a mathematical model of a(n) universe”)
There’s nothing particularly wrong with the phrase, as long as it’s not overused.
When it comes to stylistic matters, all commentators have prejudices, and often their rules boil down to “don’t use this because I don’t like it.”
Not a double negative but a perfectly sound figure of speech called litotes (lie-tow-tees). A means of expressing an affirmative by the negation of its opposite. Level of pretentiousness determined by context. Like any formal rhetorical device, not to be overused. And I don’t mean ‘underuse it’.
“Not entirely, but almost completely, unlike tea.”
Thanks, jc, for beating me to the litotes punch.
It can’t be wrong because Cecil has used it at least once.
In his famous essay, Politics and the English Language, George Orwell lambasted the “not un-” formation. “A not unblack dog chased a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field.”
Though I love Orwell’s work, I do not agree with him entirely. The OP is right when he says that “not unlike” connotes a lesser degree of similarity than “like.” Orwell’s point is, don’t use “not unlike” when “like” is what you mean.
The Brits use it, or at least they did…
From Are You Being Served?, an episode called “It Pays to Advertise”, circa 1976 or so:
Mr. Lucas: It says in the script, “A man not unlike David Niven enters the Cocoa Club,” and you, Captain Peacock, are the most not unlike David Niven person we’ve got.
Captain Peacock: Yes, the resemblance has been remarked upon.
To answer the question in the title: It depends on your style. Your use of “not unlike” will come across as pretentious to some people; however, I agree that it denotes a lesser degree of similarity than “like” does.
jcgmoi, well put dude (to use the kid’s vernacular)! Great info and I can’t wait to pull out the litotes thingy next time I have lunch with Orwell.
More than not unlike thanks,
Kid CI used to work with this woman who was overly fond of saying ‘I don’t disagree with you.’
BTW she was/is totally evil.
C K and KidC: Thanks for your thanks.
jcgmoi, can i ask you what you do for a living to come up with that word and that way of making your point? It’s just so…nice. I put another post on how I’m stylistically impaired. I wanna be like you.
I have consulted with English teachers of the modern era, and there is a consensus to deprecate this maybe construction as both clichéd and inappropriately supercilious in response to a trivial typographical error. You may consider yourself fortunate that I did not consult with English teachers of the fifties, who would probably have deemed it ungrammatical.
Strangely this pretentious syntax has somehow managed to remain in use for seven decades after being driven out of use by English teachers.
Not unlike Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
not unlike
idiom
: similar to
Its texture is not unlike that of oatmeal.
Examples of not unlike in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The effort on Maui is not unlike cataloguing remains from war zones, Byrd added, and the initial death toll after disasters sometimes changes as body bags that are collected by different agencies are brought to morgues for DNA testing.—Kyle Rempfer, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023
This may not even matter, perhaps future generations of artists will not need the support of a label in the same way and will allow the music to be shared, not unlike the way cassette tapes were passed around at Grateful Dead shows.—Les Borsai, Spin, 14 Sep. 2023
Short and sharp, not unlike an advertising slogan, it was often literally carved in stone.—A.e. Stallings, The New York Review of Books, 17 Aug. 2023
For any Math teachers in the audience, that’s five decades more than how long it took to bump this thread.
You might think that. I couldn’t possibly comment.
I don’t think it necessarily needs to be regarded as pretentious. The phrase has specific utility.
Consider: ‘apple sauce is like ketchup’
No, it isn’t.
‘Apple sauce is a little bit like ketchup’
No, not really.
‘Apple sauce is not unlike ketchup, in that it can be served with roasted meats’
OK, but it’s not ‘like’ ketchup.
‘Not unlike’ doesn’t mean ‘like’ - it means ‘different, but i would like to draw your specific attention to certain abstract or perhaps obscure similarities’
I should be more careful to quote posts that may be cornfielded. Now it looks like I resurrected a 22-year-old thread to add an incomprehensible comment about maybe.
I don’t unlike it.
Unlike is double-plus ungood.