BEWARE OF THE PLEONASMS!

I have always loved words. And yes, I am one of those people who actually enjoys perusing the dictionary from time to time. Not only are words the building blocks of our ability to communicate with one another, but they are the means through which God created the world! “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Needless to say I love unusual words—words that sound peculiar or are amusing to pronounce. To me, one such word is PLEONASM (not to be confused with neoplasm, an abnormal mass of tissue—yuk!).

Pleonasms are those superfluous little words that tend to sneak into our writing, when we are not paying attention, and weigh it down like extra baggage. They usually show up side by side, in phrases that say the same thing twice. For example, “at 12 noon,” or “close proximity.”

So the next time you are in the process of self-editing your work, be on the lookout for those nasty little pleonasms and chop, chop, chop!

Below is a brief list of common pleonasms. See if any have become part of your regular vocabulary.
  • advance warning
  • armed gunman
  • attach together
  • awkward predicament
  • basic fundamentals
  • cash money
  • continuing on
  • difficult dilemma
  • each and every
  • end result
  • filled to capacity
  • free gift
  • general public
  • little baby
  • long litany
  • null and void
  • pair of twins
  • play actor
  • regular routine
  • revert back
  • surrounded on all sides
  • tiny speck 

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