Redundancy is not Quite Tautology
rogersgeorge on December 20th, 2023
Huh?
- Redundancy is when you repeat something and the repeat is unnecessary. So “return back” is a redundancy. “Back” is redundant because it’s unnecessary; all you need is “return.”
- A Tautology is when you say something twice. It refers to the repetition, not to whether the two (or more) words have an unnecessary word. Yes, the distinction is subtle.
Here’s a good example of a tautology. If you think about it, the two parts say the same thing! (no limit=weren’t restricted)
Of course, the not-obvious tautology is what makes the comic funny.
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