Redundancies make me cranky. I don't like it when people double up on words when they don't have to. Next thing you know, they'll want a second appendix.
I don't accept that the man faced a difficult dilemma. A dilemma is when you have to make the choice between unsatisfactory options. That means all dilemmas are difficult; you don't need to say so.
What can we learn from past history? I can't even answer that because I am focused on that unnecessary "past" dropped in there. History happens in the past, otherwise it's the future.
You don't need to ask where you can find the "head honcho." Honcho, which happens to be slang, comes from a Japanese word for squad or group leader. It means boss, so the "head" part is unneeded. Just ask for the honcho.
A junta is a military group that has seized control of the government. No need to call those guys the "ruling junta."
Do you need to say "sole of the foot"? "Nape of the neck"? Unless you have a tropical tree growing somewhere on your body, you don't need to specify "palm of the hand."
Safe haven? If the place you're staying for protection isn't safe, do not stay there. If it is, just call it a "haven."
A "pretense" is a fabricated reason or explanation of something. You don't need to call these "false pretenses."
When you keep changing your mind about something, you're vacillating. No use saying you're vacillating back and forth.
When I hear that a bar has 24 different kinds of beer on tap, I think, "I hope they're all different." When I am feeling extra snarky, I think, "Well, they had better all be different, because if two of the different ones are the same, they have only 23 different kinds." Just say, "24 kinds of beer."
Law enforcement, crime news and the law have lots of redundancy.
"Armed gunman"? He's a gunman.
"Aid and abet"? How about if I do only one or the other?
Is the gunman bald-headed? You're sure it's not his elbow or shoulder that's bald?
Is his car blue in color? Not blue in flavor or texture?
If a murderer isn't caught, is it an unsolved mystery? It's just a mystery.
Telepathy is the way two people communicate through their minds, without words, signals or even text messages. So why call it "mental telepathy"? The mind is pretty much where mental things happen.
Did you see a guy holding up a closed fist? If it's not closed, it's not a fist. It's just a hand.
Fire is the flame produced when something is burning. No need to describe it as a "burning fire." That's fire's job.
You don't need to make "reservations in advance." If you're making a reservation, it had better be in advance. You're hoping the theater isn't full. Not "completely full," just full.
Equal halves? Halves are always equal, or they're not halves.
Exact duplicate? That's what a duplicate is. Exactly the same.
A new beginning? Beginnings are all new. Otherwise it's the middle or the end.
New construction? If you construct something, you're filling in a space that held nothing before. It had better be new.
An existing building? If it's a building, it has to exist. Otherwise, it's on the drawing board.
Sometimes a researcher will report a "major breakthrough." If it's not major, it's not much of a breakthrough.
An adage is an old saying. You don't have to alert people that you'll be using an "old adage."
If you want to give a "brief summary," remember that a summary is supposed to be succinct. So it had better be brief, too.
This one makes the Italian in me grumpy. If you've been in the cold all day, you may be in the mood for "minestrone soup." Minestrone only comes in one form: the soup form. You won't find a minestrone sandwich or minestrone taco anywhere. Just have minestrone.
RSVP is an abbreviation for the French phrase, "repondez s'il vous plait." The translation is "please reply." So if you're sending out invitations, don't say "please RSVP."
You don't need to tell anyone that you heard something "with your own ears." Your ears are always where the words will stream into you during the hearing process.
And if you're pondering something, you don't need to convey this with, "And I thought to myself ... ." When you think, you're doing it to yourself. Unless, of course, you practice telepathy and can think things to someone else.
Sources: thoughtco.com, oxforddictionaries.com, wordfocus.com, uwc.cah.ucf.edu, speakspeak.com
Reach Bernadette at
bkwordmonger@gmail.com
ActiveStyle on 02/05/2018