From the Department of Redundancy Department….
December 16th, 2009 by Bob Bly
I am a little obsessive about misuse of language and tend to nitpik, I know.
For instance, a headline for a news story on MSN.com today reads: “Is embalming really a necessity after death?”
“After death” is unnecessary in the sentence, because no one gets embalmed before death.
The headlline should read: “Is embalming necessary?”
Shorter and cleaner.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 11:35 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
[...] From the Department of Redundancy Department…. – bly.com blog – bly.com direct marketing blog bly.com/blog/general/from-the-department-of-redundancy-department – view page – cached I am a little obsessive about misuse of language and tend to nitpik, I know. [...]
December 16th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
The problem is conversions. What about “Free Gift”? If you don’t say “Free”, then people get confused.
Of the two headlines in your post, which do you think gets the most clicks? Most data I’ve seen says links around six words long get the most clicks.
December 16th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I think I once dated someone who was embalmed before death.
December 16th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Satvik: you can make an interesting headline six words long without saying something as redundant as “embalmed after death.”
December 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Clarity might demand the “after death” for readers who don’t know what embalming is…
December 16th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
I’m not sure ANYTHING is a necessity after death….
December 17th, 2009 at 8:42 am
William: not for the deceased, but for the living, disposing of the body is a necessity….
December 18th, 2009 at 1:22 am
I’m not a professional writer like most of you on here, but I nitpick too, because I consider writing important.
Really is a word I refrain from using frequently because in many cases it’s a redundant word. In your example, it says, “really a necessity”. What does really mean in this context? Is something “not really” a necessity?
Something is either necessary or it isn’t!
December 18th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Bradley: The use of “really” tips the reader that MY opinion is that it is NOT a necessity. Without “really” the question is more objective.
December 18th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Thanks Bob. I didn’t think of it like that.
Do you think that there are times where words like “actually”, “really”, “very”, and “absolutely” are unnecessary?
December 19th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Actually, there are times when they absolutely alter meaning — and other times when they absolutely are very unnecessary — actually.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Thanks Bob.
You’re hysterical!
December 19th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Bob, one of my pet peeves is very similar. As we pulled into Penn Station every morning on the Long Island Rail Road, the engineer would announce our arrival at the train’s “LAST and FINAL stop.”
Used to drive me batty.
December 20th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
[...] From the Department of Redundancy Department… [...]
December 21st, 2009 at 10:36 am
Does this mean someone should contact the American Dodge Ball Association of America?
December 24th, 2009 at 9:56 am
[...] From the Department of Redundancy Department…. – bly.com blog … [...]
December 24th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Redundancy will never exit our society. If members of society can ask, “Were you alone or by yourself,” without hesitation, it is clear the tendency for redundancy in our meritocracy is here to stay.
December 27th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[...] From the Department of Redundancy Department…. – bly.com blog … [...]
December 28th, 2009 at 3:39 am
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January 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am
LOL Sometimes, we forget to use our common sense whenever we are into writing. I usually do the same mistake sometimes. For the usage of words, there are times that we don’t expect to use unnecessary words in our writings.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Are you sure and certain? I mean, repetitive redundancy often requires a tentative confirmation, no?
January 26th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I can think of some people who I would like embalmed before death..
January 28th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Maybe somebody will be interested to undergo embalming before he/she die. LOL You’re right, most of the times, we construct sentences using unappropriated words. Which in turn appears to be redundant that leads to a nonsense sentence.
February 1st, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Excellent point, but with the intelligence of the masses getting lower and lower, that headline might actually help some people understand that you have to wait til you die to get embalmed.
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