Redundancy is the unnecessary use of either needless, tautological, pleonastic or superfluous text, by which one repeats, in duplication, the same, identical, aforesaid things over and over and over and over again, beyond what would be needed or required to explain, or make comprehensible, the intended or signified meaning of that which one wishes to convey. These things can be referred to as being Redundant. Customarily, it is usually common in redundancy to repeat, sometimes with different phrasing or words, the same idea or reasoning, thus restating one’s thoughts, sometimes paraphrasing oneself and effectively saying the same thing twice, or double, or thrice (three times; triply so), or any number of excessive, unnecessary restatements greater than zero.
Here are a few redundant phrases:
- ABS system
- AC current
- ATM Machine
- absolutewly nothing
- ask the question
- advance planning
- advance warning
- armed gunman
- added bonus
- and also
- arrived at the conclusion
- assembled together
- attach together
- 12 noon
- 12 midnight
- autobiography of my life
- big giant
- big in size
- brief in duration
- cash money
- climb up
- close proximity
- cold temperature
- collaborate together
- complete opposite
- component parts
- consensus of opinion
- continue to remain
- current status
- doctorate degree
- DOS operatinog system (Disk Operating System)
- DVD disk (Digital Versatile Disk)
- each and every
- estimated ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
- estimated roughly at
- end result
- exact same
- fellow colleague
- few in number
- filled to capacity
- former veteran
- foreign imports
- frozen ice
- free gift
- green in color
- head of cabbage (cabbage means head)
- HIV virus (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
- honest truth
- hot water heater
- IRA account (Individual Retirement Account)
- join together
- knowledgeable experts
- LCD display (Liquid Crystal Display)
- lower down
- merged together
- more and more
- mutual agreement
- my personal opinion
- new breakthrough
- new developement
- original source
- over and over
- overexaggerate
- pair of twins
- passing fad
- past experience
- past history
- personally, I think
- PIN number (Personal Identification Number)
- postpone until later
- potentially hazardous
- pre-recorded
- protest against
- raise up
- RAM memory (Random Access Memory)
- regular routine
- repeat again
- roast beef with au jus (au jus meand with juice)
- Rio Grande River (Rio Grande means river)
- Sahara Desert (Sahara is derived from the arabic word for desert)
- same identical
- square in shape
- starve to death
- still remains
- surrounded on all sides
- sum total
- tall of stature
- temporary loan
- tied up
- totally destroyed
- tuna fish
- unexpected surprise
- unite together
- unmarried bachelor
- UPC code (Universal Product Code)
- usual habit
- very unique
- VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number)
- visible to the eye
- weather outside
- while at the same time
- never at any time
“I simply hate, detest, loathe, despise, and abhor redundancy.” — Oscar Wilde
I beg to differ on these:
12 noon
12 midnight
“At this particular point in time,” it is “pouring down with rain.”
What is the “ISBN (or ISSN) number” of that item?
“At this particular point in time,” it is “pouring down with rain.” (One can also add the word “outside.”)
Do you have the “ISBN (or ISSN) number” of that item?
Quite a few of these are not redundant due to the ambiguity of a words meaning. ‘he is green’ can mean green in color or green as in no skill. So saying ‘he is green in color’ is not necessarily redundant. A lot of these also give clarity and further definition, such as 12 noon/12 midnight.
Have to disagree on this one:
LCD Display
LCD = Liquid Crystal Digital
🙂
Duuude, let’s try this
12 noon=======redundancy
noon=======no redundancy
12 midnight=====redundancy
midnight=====no redundancy
hope that helps ;>)
There are many that need that additional clarification.
brief in duration… not underwear
RAM memory… not Dodge truck
roast beef with au jus… not a dry sandwich
IRA account… not Irish Republican Army
temporary loan… not permanent or undefined loan
tuna fish… not Tuna cassarole
weather outside… local, not weather in Alaska
etc
People are lazy, redundancy that really isn’t needed will be eliminated.
I disagree about a pair of twins. A pair of twins would be four people.
You forgot one:
Bits & Pieces.
Yeah! Bits & Pieces…good one.
How is “tied up” redundant? I don’t get that one for some reason.
IRA actually stands for Individual Retirement Agreement
couldnt a word like weather be referring to the abstract concept of weather instead of the current weather conditions outside the building? As in “a meteorologists reports the weather”. Also, noon isnt necessarily 12 pm. I found this:
“The word “noon” is derived from Latin nona hora, the ninth hour of the day. As the Roman day started on 6.00 a.m., at sunrise, the first hour would have been from 6.00 till 7.00 a.m and the ninth hour from 2.00 till 3.00 p.m. These hours were important in monasteries, as different prayers were held on them.”
and another definition of noon is: The time or point in the sun’s path at which the sun is on the local meridian. Also called noontide, noontime.
And I will disagree on “each and every”. Each implies a minimum number, while every implies a maximum number. I recall some of the Applied Maths I studied at University, where “one & only one” was analysed in great detail. One means at least one, only one means not more than one.
Here’s another – Dumbing Down. Can you Dumb Up?
The correct word for redundancy in this case is tautology.
So the word redundancy is redundant!