From time to time on the Charles Fudgemuffin blog, I like to draw attention to silly tautologies, so as it's been a while since my last round-up of silly tautologies, this week's blog post features another selection of unnecessary repetitions!
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| "Bah! A belated warning! If only it had been an advance warning!" |
1) Advance warning
An 'advance' warning? I think it's fair to say that all warnings are given in advance! You don't warn someone after the event has already occurred!
Imagine the weather forecast saying, "I'm warning you now, take an umbrella when you go out yesterday, because it rained yesterday."
2) Three-way love triangle
Three-way love triangles are always a bad idea. It's always better to stick to a traditional two-way love triangle.
3) Single bachelor
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| "Er, Sarge ... I can't help thinking we've forgotten something." |
I think it's safe to say that this is another relationship related tautology where the adjective is unnecessary.
4) Armed gunman
Armed gunmen are the worst. I much prefer unarmed gunmen.
5) Hula dance
Hula is the Hawaiian term for dance, so strictly speaking if you say 'hula dance' you are saying 'dance dance'!
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| A litter of pugs. Editor's note: "Charles, that's the wrong type of litter!" Charles: "Yes, I know, but they were so cute that I thought I'd include them anyway." |
6) Unwanted litter
I once remember a sign at a music festival advising people where they could dispose of 'unwanted litter'.
Was the word 'unwanted' really necessary? I'm pretty sure all litter, by definition, is unwanted! After all, if it was wanted, it wouldn't be litter!
7) Comprising of
Finally, this last one is a little bit nitpicky, but technically speaking 'comprising' means 'consisting of'. So if you say 'comprising of' that's the equivalent of saying 'consisting of of'.
If you want to read more articles
Silly tautologies (part 1)
Silly tautologies (part 2)
Silly tautologies (part 3)
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