Wikipedia tells me that a bunch of his famous quotations were tautology, which is unnecessary repetition of meaning. Berra once said, for instance, "I knew the record would stand until it was broken." Tautology, as it turns out, is one of my pet peeves, even though I just learned the word.
- "It's currently five o'clock." Well, that'd be great if I wanted to know what time it was right now. I wanted to know what time it is three hours ago. Even worse, "at the present time." Boo.
- On ATMs. "Remove the bills from the bill dispenser." And I thought there were going to be gum balls in the bill dispenser :(
- "Wandering aimlessly": does anyone ever wander purposefully?
- "Continue on": Only six will continue on in the hopes of becoming America's Next Top Model. Just once, I'd like to see one of them continue off.
- "Rambling on and on." Tee hee.
- I know a guy who hates lists that start with "For example," and end with "etc." Using "for example" already tells the reader that the following are only a couple of many possibilities, so "etc." is implied.
- "A personal friend": I have so many impersonal ones.
- That one English dude on America's Got Talent always says "The reason I buzzed you is, is that your act was..." It's bad enough he doesn't just say "I buzzed you because..." he's got to say is twice. If you don't watch this show (and you absolutely shouldn't, if you were thinking otherwise), you have no idea what I'm talking about. BUT, I should get points for telling you that you have no idea what I'm talking about when you already know that you have no idea what I'm talking about, because that is also an example of tautology. I rule.
- And then of course, there are the things that make my dear husband's blood boil: ATM machine, PIN number, UPC code...
1 comment:
I wander purposefully :D
You should already know that since you gave me a bracelet with similar sentiment ;)
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