FYI

[victor steinbok]

One character in a current Zyrtec TV commercial uses "FYI" as "good to know".

Two characters exchange witticisms about allergies real and imagined,
at which point the male pulls out a juice bottle to "wash down" a dose
of Allegra. The woman then points out that Allegra instructions advise
against taking the pill with "fruit juice". The man puts down the
juice bottle and takes Zyrtec. (Never mind the apparent incongruity
that there would be no need to avoid the juice with Zyrtec--it's not
supposed to make sense--just make a point.) Finally, a third character
peeks out and asks, "You can't take Allegra with orange juice?" After
an affirmative nod, he says, "FYI", and walks away.

OED entry for "FYI" has the description "Explanatory, informative".
While this usage conforms, generally, to this meaning, that is not
quite what is being described in the dictionary. All the citations use
"FYI" to describe something related to the source of the message--the
message itself, the tone of an FYI message--but all from the
perspective of the originator of the message. That is, "FYI" is
"something I want to tell /you/" or "something /you/ should know"
(something generally implied by "For /your/ information"). This
instance is quite different--the implication is "something /I/ should
know", from the perspective of the recipient of the message.

I called McNeil and asked for the script of the ad, to make sure I did
not misread it. They did not immediately understand what I was talking
about, so they "escalated" the request. I'll let you know if I get a
response.

VS-)

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