Is this the most superfluous word in the English language?

A discussion about pruning

In these posts for paid subscribers I either explore useful hints and tips for (especially) nonfiction writers, or explain how I went about creating a particular ‘experiment in style’.

There’s a lot to be said for cutting out extraneous words, which is why a lot of people say it.

scissors cutting out words — generated by Substack

I’ve started to view words as employees: they need to earn their keep. If they’re just loafing around adding nothing to the narrative, why am I keeping them on?

But determining which words are superfluous, that’s the tricky part. Getting rid of most, if not all, adjectives and adverbs is often a safe bet I’ve found. But there is one adverb in particular that I take exception to.