redundant redundancies

SpaceFlight   Sun May 06, 2007 5:53 pm GMT
http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/twice.html

absolutely essential

absolutely necessary

ACT test

advance forward

advance warning

affluent rich

always and forever

anonymous stranger

associate together

attach together

autobiography of my life

awful bad

bad trouble

basic fundamentals

begin to proceed

boiling hot

bunny rabbit

cash money

cease and desist

Chile pepper

circulated around

classic tradition

close proximity

closed fist

collaborate together with

combined together

complete monopoly

completely filled

component parts

continuing on

crimson red

dark night

delete out

down under

Each and every one of you

elevate up

end result

enter into

evil villain

exactly the same

falling down

famous celebrities

fellow colleagues

Fill in the empty blank

first of all

for your FYI

former graduate

free gift

full satisfaction

gather together

grand total

Greetings & Salutations

handwritten manuscript

HIV virus

hopes and aspirations

hygienic cleaning

I thought to myself

immortalized forever

individual person

inner core

jet plane

KFC chicken

kitty cat

last will and testament

LCD display

live audience

male son

marital spouse

merge together

more easier

my personal opinion

negative misfortune

new discovery

newborn baby

null and void

original founder

over and above

pair of twins

past experience

past tradition

Pie a la mode with ice cream

pizza pie

positive yes

previous history

print out

proposed plan

protective helmet

raise up

repeat again

revert back

rising above

RSVP, please

safe sanctuary

Scotch Whisky

sharp point

sink down

small speck

solitary hermit

specific example

square box

sufficient enough

swampy marsh

temper tantrum

terrible tragedy

tiny bit

true fact

turning around

under cover

unique individual

unmarried old maid

useless and unnecessary

wall murals

whether or not

with au jus gravy

Xerox copy

young child


A.M. in the morning

ABS braking system

academic scholar

added bonus

advance scout

affirmative yes

all inclusive

and etc.

ask a question

at this point in time

automatic ATM machine

baby calf

bare naked

beautiful vista to look out upon

boat marina

brief moment

burning hot

CAT test

Chicken Coq au Vin

chili con carne with meat

circle around

clam chowder soup

climb up

close scrutiny

cold frost

commence to begin

complete stop

completely unanimous

consensus of opinion

convicted felon

crystal clear

deja vu all over again

descend down

duplicate copy

elderly senior citizens

empty hole

empty space

ending outcome

essential necessity

exact replica

extreme hazard

false illusion

favorable approval

female daughter

final farewell

first priority

foreign imports

former veteran

freezing cold

future plans

good success

grateful thanks

growing greater

hanging down

honest truth

hot water heater

I remembered back

ice cold

income coming in

initially from the beginning

it's raining outside

join together

killed dead

knowledgeable experts

latex rubber

little baby

live witness

manually by hand

mental thought

money-saving coupon

More than unique--it's practically one of a kind!

near vicinity

New & Improved

new innovations

Not one single person

oral conversation

other alternatives

P.I.N. number

passing fad

past history

personal friend

Pizza Hut pizza

plait a braid

postponed until later

previously recorded

prior history

protective armor

puppy dog

refer back

return back

Rio Grande River

round circle

safe haven

SAT test

separate out

shrimp scampi

small child

soda pop

soup du jour of the day

spinning around

still remains

surrounded on all sides

tear apart

temporary reprieve

three triplets

toys and playthings

tuna fish

two twins

unexpected surprise

unmarried bachelor

unsolved mysteries

usual custom

V.I.N. number

wear upon

widow woman

written down

youthful teenager

What is your favorite redundant redundancy?
Guest   Sun May 06, 2007 6:03 pm GMT
Tea chai and past history are my favorites. Didn't we deal with this before If I am not wrong? I feel we did.
furrykef   Sun May 06, 2007 6:54 pm GMT
"Chile pepper" is usually spelled "chili pepper" in English (although it derives from Spanish "chile"), and it's not redundant because it distinguishes the chili pepper from chili con carne (usually simply called "chili", at least in the United States).

"Small child" is not redundant; a 12-year-old may be considered a child but not a particularly small one.

"Dark night" isn't that redundant because some nights can be bright, with a bright moon and many stars. It might also be used metaphorically to mean a gloomy night.

"Pizza Hut pizza", despite the repetition, is not redundant. The first "pizza" is part of the brand name, and the second specifies the product under that brand name. "I got a Pizza Hut pizza" is not really more redundant than "I got a Little Caesars pizza". True, you could just say "I got some Pizza Hut", but you could also say "I got some Little Caesars". The only exception is if you're not familiar with the brand name; if you haven't heard of Pizza Hut, then "I got some Pizza Hut" does suggest a pizza. But, on the other hand, if you haven't heard of Pizza Hut, then you don't know whether they sell other things like spaghetti, so you still couldn't be sure. It could even be a perverse joke and they don't sell pizza at all, but of course that isn't very likely. ;)

"Oral conversation" is not necessarily redundant, because there is such a thing as a written conversation or an online conversation.

"Unsolved mysteries" is arguably borderline because there's such a thing as a solved mystery, but context usually will make it clear whether or not the mystery has been solved. The show title "Unsolved Mysteries" is a case where it's not redundant, because a show titled "Mysteries" could easily deal with mysteries that have been solved as well as those that haven't.

I didn't examine the list as closely as I could have, but the others do seem genuinely redundant. I wouldn't be surprised to see another one or two dubious entries, though.

One that annoys my stepdad is "carne asada steak", although that's probably another debatable case as well, since carne asada can be prepared in various ways.

- Kef
Lazar   Sun May 06, 2007 8:03 pm GMT
One of my favorites is the La Brea Tar Pits of LA, which essentially mean "the The Tar Tar Pits".

Other good ones are "at this point in time" and "general consensus".
SpaceFlight   Sun May 06, 2007 8:38 pm GMT
Why exactly do they think "Pizza Hut pizza" is redundant? It's certainly not. It refers to pizza that comes from Pizza Hut.

"Pizza Hut pizza tastes different from pizza from other pizzerias".

What do they expect us to use here?
Lazar   Sun May 06, 2007 9:32 pm GMT
I agree - "Pizza Hut pizza" is definitely not redundant.
Lazar   Sun May 06, 2007 9:37 pm GMT
And another one that I've seen, usually not even in a facetious context, is "the male penis".
Jim   Mon May 07, 2007 12:12 am GMT
The pizza point also applies to "KFC chicken". We have dealt with "chai tea".

"three triplets"/"two twins" - These are not redundant they are twins/triplets & and there are two/three of them as opposed to some other number e.g. one. Consider this "There are three triplets in year seven: two of them are in the A class and one is in the B class. There are two twins in year eight class A and two in class B."

Cambridge defines "felon" as "a person who is guilty of a serious crime" and "convict" as "to decide officially in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime". You can be guilty but not (yet) convicted of a serious crime. "Convicted felon" is not redundancy.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=28432&dict=CALD

A lot of them see like things you'd never hear or read anyway.
Guest   Mon May 07, 2007 3:54 am GMT
>>And another one that I've seen, usually not even in a facetious context, is "the male penis". <<

What about the transgender or shemale penis?
Lazar   Mon May 07, 2007 4:13 am GMT
<<What about the transgender or shemale penis?>>

Well, yeah, I suppose...but when I've seen it, it's usually been in simple "male-female" discussions in which qualification really didn't seem necessary. Is this a borderline case? ;-)
Liz   Mon May 07, 2007 6:14 am GMT
<<anonymous stranger>>
It isn't necessarily redundant. It might happen that you don't know someone but you know his name. (He introduced himself for some reason or you just heard his name.)

<<boiling hot>>
Water can be hot but not yet boiling. Ditto "burning hot".

<<crimson red>>
There are other types of "red colour" - to be redundant.

<<always and forever, each and every, null and void, exactly the same, chrystal clear>>
just for the sake of ephasis

<<square box>>
There are round boxes, too.

<<oral conversation>>
Conversation can be written, too, nowadays.

There is nothing wrong with "ask a question". Okay, it's redundant, but you can't really replace it by another expression. You can say you "have a question" but if you want to be more polite and want to ask "May I ask you a question?", you can't really say "May I have a question?" because it sounds slightly weird. It makes me answer "Yes, please. Which one do you want?"

I liked "RSVP, please", "solitary hermit", "wall murals", "autobiography of my life", "gather together" and "male son".

I might add "empirical experience", "historical chronology", "as per usual", "in any way, shape or form", nevertheless, the latter fulfils the function of emphasis (a little too much, though). I also like "I never make predictions, especially not about future". "Canal La Manche" - it means canal the canal.

"Male penis" is hilarious!!!!! I've seen it in a newspaper article and I couldn't help laughing. Interesting thoughts about transgender or she-male penis... ;-)
Liz   Mon May 07, 2007 6:18 am GMT
I forgot to add "two alternatives". I know it's quite normal to say these days as "alternative" has almost completely lost it's original meaning, i.e. alternatives are never less and never more than two. I can't help thinking of that.
Guest   Mon May 07, 2007 6:21 am GMT
>> <<boiling hot>>
Water can be hot but not yet boiling. Ditto "burning hot".

<<crimson red>>
There are other types of "red colour" - to be redundant. <<

Sure, but what is "boiling" but hot? The word "hot" is what makes it redundant.

Similarly, what is the color "crimson" if not red?
Liz   Mon May 07, 2007 6:30 am GMT
<<Sure, but what is "boiling" but hot? The word "hot" is what makes it redundant.

Similarly, what is the color "crimson" if not red?>>

Well, yes. The other way round.
Jim   Mon May 07, 2007 7:40 am GMT
You can boil water at 5 degrees Celcius if the pressure is low enough. Then there's the boiling point of helium which is anything but hot.