Language Dec 7, 2017 at 10:45 am

Five Redundant Phrases That Make Us All a Little Poorer

Dave Segal
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Comments

1
Love this on the same day the Stranger features the headline "Are Democrats In Washington To Set a Good Example?" Now: Are Writers In Stranger To Set a Good Examples?
The Chicken on December 7, 2017 at 10:52 AM Report this
2
Unlike your other examples, there is no redundancy with "young" as an adjective paired with "teen" as 'young' conveys the joy of youth and 'teen' defines the chronological age. When similar adjectives act to individually refine the meaning, there is no redundancy.

raindrop on December 7, 2017 at 10:59 AM Report this
4
Language is always changing and there will always be misfires. You are probably the kind of person who will be complaining about the proper use of "literally" on your deathbed, and that is quite sad for you. Just roll with the nonsense instead of grating your teeth and you'll be a much more pleasant person.
eeeeee on December 7, 2017 at 11:16 AM Report this
5
@2 "'young' conveys the joy of youth" Your dictionary is defective. Return it to the manufacturer. Or... your conception of "young" being by definition joyful is, to put it kindly, off-base.
Dave Segal on December 7, 2017 at 11:40 AM Stranger Staff
6
I'm sure all teachers are very happy people because they don't care if the kids learn are not. Like, whatever, dude. Do whatever you want. Learn, or don't. It doesn't matter.
cloudbusdaddy on December 7, 2017 at 11:53 AM Report this
7
I don't think "first introduced" is so bad, if only because I'm something of a drunk who's also awful with both names and faces.

Seriously... If someone is introduced to someone multiple times (for whatever reason!) I'd think that's a legitimate qualifier.
mike blob on December 7, 2017 at 12:10 PM Report this
8
(though I guess my example is relatively rare and "first" has perhaps slipped into most folks' lexicon as the standard for most introductions.)

Not sure about "young teen" though either. Would the young aspect of it not being suggesting someone in the 13-15 year old range? There are probably more efficient ways of conveying an approximate age, but I don't know if this necessarily qualifies as redundant.
mike blob on December 7, 2017 at 12:19 PM Report this
9
This post is sick.
treacle on December 7, 2017 at 1:23 PM Report this
10
You, sir, have reached fogeyhood. Please accept your new title of Senior Music Reviewer For Senior Music.
Mtn. Beaver on December 7, 2017 at 1:53 PM Report this
11
@9,

Are you sure you don't mean it's sic?

Sorry.
mike blob on December 7, 2017 at 2:07 PM Report this
12
What are your future predictions about all this?
seatackled on December 7, 2017 at 3:43 PM Report this
13
I hate the "free gift with purchase" gimmick so common these days. If you have to shell out money to get it, it ain't free.
makkoli on December 7, 2017 at 5:32 PM Report this
14
@12 A++
Dave Segal on December 7, 2017 at 5:37 PM Stranger Staff
15
Banal
Sportlandia on December 7, 2017 at 5:42 PM Report this
16
I find quibbling about grammar quite interesting; makes me remise about the fine editors I've worked with.
raindrop on December 7, 2017 at 7:46 PM Report this
17
@16: "remise: to give up a claim to"

"Reminisce" is perhaps what you were going for, but you were remiss and missed.
long-time reader on December 7, 2017 at 10:54 PM Report this
19
@18 You started great, then quickly lost the plot, and by the end of your post, I wanted to call 9-1-1 for you. You okay? I hope so. Where can I download your poetry chapbooks?
Dave Segal on December 9, 2017 at 2:38 PM Stranger Staff
21
@21 Why would an esteemed personage such as pansack stoop to frequent such a lowly rest stop on the information superhighway as Slog? It's a mystery for the sages.
Dave Segal on December 9, 2017 at 6:42 PM Stranger Staff
23
I meant @20, obviously. And you grow more incoherent by the hour. "stawarts"? Troll-feeding time is over.
Dave Segal on December 10, 2017 at 1:49 AM Stranger Staff
25
@24 You haven't annihilated anything, except maybe your tenuous grip on reality and syntax.
Dave Segal on December 10, 2017 at 11:25 AM Stranger Staff
27
@26 I defend my points very clearly in the original post. If you disagree, fine.
Dave Segal on December 11, 2017 at 11:32 AM Stranger Staff

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