Dictionary

Captain Obvious en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• -tĭn-
• kăpˌ-tən-ŏbˈ -vēəs
• /-ən -/ (UK)
• /ˌkæptən ˈɑbviəs/ (US)
• /ˌkæptɪn ˈɒbviəs/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (derogatory, humorous, sarcastic, usually) Someone who makes superfluously obvious statements or who has just made one.
   • Thank you, Captain Obvious!
   • 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. 2002, Tee Morris, Steve Oakley, Premiere 6.5 Power!, Thomson Course Technology, →ISBN, page 240:
   • 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.
   • “Do you know who that is?” he said, pointing both hands at the screen. / “Harold…Wolf…?” the class stated the obvious in slow, disjointed unison. Mr. Candas looked ready to jump off a roof. / “Thank you, Captains Obvious,” he murmured. 2013, Kaleb Nation, Harken, VOLT, →ISBN, page 38:
   • The larger of the two specifications is known as Wide SCSI-2 because it's wider (Captain Obvious rides again). 1998, David Groth, A+: Core Module Study Guide, Sybex, →ISBN, page 189:
   • Captains Obvious point to Sgt. Pepper’s as the source but, in reality, it’s Revolver. It comes from here, and it goes there and everywhere. 2022, Questlove [pseudonym; Ahmir K. Thompson], “Evolver”, in Revolver, Apple Corps, page 17, column 1:
   • 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. 2002, Cathryn Michon, The Grrl Genius Guide to Life, HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 145:
   • Text links, by their very nature, contain text (thank you, Captain Obvious). 1995, Rob Stokes and the Minds of Quirk, eMarketing, Рипол Классик, →ISBN, page 82:

Forms

Relateds

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

Synonyms

master of the obvious

Translations (19)

kk Капитан Айқындық (someone who makes superfluous statements) · ru Капита́н Очеви́дность (someone who makes superfluous statements) · cmn 明知故問的人 /明知故问的人 (someone who makes superfluous statements) · pt Capitão Óbvio (someone who makes superfluous statements) · hu láss csodát (someone who makes superfluous statements) · hu minő meglepetés (someone who makes superfluous statements) · hu milyen meglepő (someone who makes superfluous statements) · hu Nyilvánvaló Kapitány (someone who makes superfluous statements) · de Kapitän Offensichtlich (someone who makes superfluous statements) · hu csodák csodája (someone who makes superfluous statements) · es Capitán Obvio (someone who makes superfluous statements) · de Columbo (someone who makes superfluous statements) · it Capitan Ovvio (someone who makes superfluous statements) · ca Capità Obvi (someone who makes superfluous statements) · it Sherlock Holmes (someone who makes superfluous statements) · pl Kapitan Oczywisty (someone who makes superfluous statements) · fi Ilmari Ilmiselvä (someone who makes superfluous statements) · eo Kapitano Evidenta (someone who makes superfluous statements) · it genio (someone who makes superfluous statements)