BIO
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
RECENT POSTStautology
to-TAW-law-jee
noun
the unnecessary repetition of an idea, word, or phrase; redundancy
1885The Book of the Thousand Nights and a NightI have been careful to preserve the balanced sentences with which the tales open; the tautology and the prose—rhyme serving to attract attention, e. g., 'In days of yore and in times long gone before there was a King,' etc.; in England where we strive not to waste words this becomes 'Once upon a time.'1910Great Fortunes from RailroadsEach period to itself, however. Cornelius Vanderbilt was the golden luminary of his time, a magnate of such combined, far-reaching wealth and power as the United States had never known. Indeed, one overruns the line of tautology in distinguishing between wealth and power. The two were then identical not less than now. Wealth was the real power. None knew or boasted of this more than old Vanderbilt when, with advancing age, he became more arrogant and choleric and less and less inclined to smooth down the storms he provoked by his contemptuous flings at the great pliable public. 1982The Unbearable Lightness of Being For it was this idiotic tautology ( Long live life! ) which attracted people indifferent to the theses of Communism to the Communist parade.2005Technology and Happieness (Technology Review, January 2005)For classical economists, it was almost tautological to say that the wealthier people are, the happier they are, too.Labels: Gustavus Myers, James Surowiecki, Milan Kundera, Sir Richard Francis Burton
|
Permalink: tautology Entry By: CJ Cooney Smash illiteracy! Email This Word To A Friend: |
| |
| Back to the main page.... | ||
