Do you know what drives me crazy? Redundancies. It makes me nuts when people repeat themselves. I get irritated when writing is repetitive. I feel frustrated when people say the same thing over and over and over again.

OK, I think you get my point.

I’m a busy person. I don’t have time to wade through a murky muck of unnecessary words to figure out what message someone is trying to convey. I want to get to the point. Move forward. Carry on. Get on with it. (See, isn’t that irritating?)

This is a favorite topic in my presentations, because most people don’t even realize they’re committing this particular offense. When I show them how common it actually is, they feel enlightened.

The fact is, the pleonasm has become so ubiquitous in our language that we hardly notice it anymore. But if we stop and take the time to look at our writing and do just a little quality editing we can cut out unnecessary words, redundant phrases and repetitive ideas, and make our writing clearer and more enjoyable to read. So how do we get a grip on this issue? First, be aware.

In his wonderful book, Write Tight, William Brohaugh suggests that we, “Learn not just what words mean, but what they imply, what they embrace.” And that is a great place to start. For example, if you know that the definition of the word pleonasm is a redundant phrase or expression, then the phrase redundant pleonasm sounds pretty silly, doesn’t it?

Here is a short list of some of the more common redundant phrases that we exploit. See how many you’re guilty of using.

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Each and every (Use each or every, not both.)
And also (They mean the same thing. Use one or the other.)
Added bonus (All bonuses are added. That’s what makes them bonuses.)
Join together (How do you join something apart?)
Complete and total (As opposed to complete and partial?)
Surrounded on all sides (Can you be surrounded on only one side?)
Past experience (There’s no such thing as a future experience.)
Free gift (If you have to pay for it – it’s not a gift. It’s a product. Sheesh!)

And here are a few more that you might be familiar with:

advance warning
share together
close proximity
raise up
now pending
forward progress
but however
excess waste
absolutely essential
genuine sincerity
condense down
end result
identical match
I myself
repeat again
previous history
might possibly

You get the idea. And there are hundreds more where those came from. Have some favorites? Send them to me! I love getting your e-mails and comments about writing issues that confuse you or drive you crazy.

Until next week!

Write on!