[Ann Drysdale]

All this is of little significance to the hoi polloi.

[Lightning Bug]

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

[John Whitworth]

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

[Julie Steiner]

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

mid 16th century: French (earlier form of alcool ), or from medieval Latin, from Arabic al-kuḥl ‘the kohl.’ In early use the term denoted powders, specifically kohl, and especially those obtained by sublimation; later ‘a distilled or rectified spirit’ (mid 17th century).

[Lightning Bug]

.

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

.

[Jayne Osborn]

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

[Lightning Bug]

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*

[Jayne Osborn]

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

[Rob Stuart]

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

[Rob Stuart]

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.