Redundant words

Posted by Hunter on October 07, 2003

In Reply to: posted by James Briggs on October 04, 2003

: Redundant words are, sadly, pretty common in the UK. Some that spring immediately to mind are;
: A free gift
: A skin rash - you can't have a rash other than on your skin!
: A dead body
: I bet there are dozens of others!!

Try these:

Null and void (as if you could have one without the other)
Open and obvious (as opposed to what: open and hidden?)
give, devise, and bequeath

Eyesight (you never hear of Earhearing)
Little bit

Actually, the first three are legal phrases and we tend to do this in the Common law because of Anglo-Saxon vs. Norman French phrases, so it would make sense to everyone reading it. Now it is just a habit or a style.

The last two are just silly.