Redundancies and pleonasms
May 27, 2009
Redundancy is just one of the many problems that fall under the general category of Wordiness. A redundant phrase or expression is called a pleonasm. You may think you know when a redundancy occurs, but some of them can be subtle. The following seems like a simple sentence, but look closer and you’ll see all the redundancy. “An unexpected surprise came when a pair of baby twins was born at 12 midnight.” What is a surprise if not unexpected? What are twins if not a pair? Who can be born but a baby? When is midnight if not at 12?
