Can “both” be used in this way as an appositive?

Question

Although not a preferred style, in the following example, is it incorrect to treat "both" as an appositive, and therefore to insert commas around it?

Thank you, both, for helping.

Answer 1

Yes, it is possible, but it should be constructed a little bit different. Using it as an appositive, a better way to put it would be:

Thank you, both of you, for helping.

Personally, I wouldn't use it as an appositive in most situations. It sounds and looks a lot more straightforward if you just nix the commas altogether.

Thank you both for helping.

Answer 2

It's not incorrect but, yes, the use of commas here is really unnecessary. Stating it as "Thank you both for helping" is cleaner and more common.