13 redundant phrases you’re probably using all the time

Pleonasm is not as fun as it sounds. It’s a fancy word for redundancy – or using way more words than you need. Just get to the point, will ya? According to Benjamin Smith at Mental Floss, phrases like “frozen tundra” and “false pretence” also fall into this pleonastic category. Haven suggests a place where you’re unlikely to encounter disaster. Anything’s possible! Still, it’s safe to delete “safe” from the phrase.

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Surprise! All surprises are naturally unexpected. Except perhaps in cases of surprise parties with advance warnings! This phrase is redundant, and you’ll often find it used in cases that weren’t, in fact, surprising. Ever hear anyone claim, “What an unexpected surprise!” after they’ve opened your gift? Or when you show up uninvited at dinnertime?

You know what’s fun? Trying to have an impulse that’s not sudden. A true impulse can’t be pre-planned. You just have to let it happen – involuntarily according to the dictionary definition. All impulses will be of the sudden sort. Avoid redundancy when describing them.

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You can probably conjure a situation where it’s possible to have a result before the end, but why bother? Technically, the result (for whatever) will occur at the end (of whatever). The result is the conclusion, the outcome, the final product, the finish. In other words, the result is the end. Feel free to use “result” or “end,” but never both. End redundant results!

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Source: RD.com