All this is of little significance to the hoi polloi.

We're concerning ourselves with the hoi polloi here now?!! Gosh... I didn't realize. Mea culpa apologies.

The hoi polloi is a redundancy. As Ann well knows.

So is "the alcohol", if we're really being picky. But pickiness and inebriation don't mix well.

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Oh... so we're concerning ourselves with the alcohol here now?!! I hate when my knowledge ignorance gets exposed.

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My pet peeve:

The redundancy of "his own" in "He choked on his own vomit" - a revolting sentence if ever there was one, anyway - but he (or she) couldn't choke on someone else's vomit!

Great thread, Bugsy :)

Jayne

Ha, ha, Jayne... very true. But despite that, I can almost imagine a person saying, "He choked on vomit," being met with, "His own?"

Maybe you could compromise and keep "his".

*blame Jayne, everybody*

Nah... that's a cop-out, Bugsy.

If I was met with the reply "His own?" I would have to "cease and desist" from my usual niceness and give that person a withering look... and sarcastically respond, "No, mine, actually."

But in reality the aforementioned revolting sentence is one I'd avoid uttering in the first place 'cos it makes me feel sick! ;)

(Yuk. Someone change the subject, quickly, please!)

Jayne

There's a whole class of redundancies around acronyms, like 'PIN number'.

It's become a regrettable fashion among TV chefs to add 'off' to any cooking verb, e.g. 'fry the onions off'. I hate that.