Department of Redundancy Department Quiz

Answer: Joseph withdrew his last $50 from the ATM machine

The redundancy is "ATM machine". ATM stands for "automated teller machine", so adding the word "machine" to the acronym is redundant. Again I say, it's unnecessarily redundant and repetitive. Now, do you get the idea?

Answer: Jill traveled to Japan, where she climbed Mt. Fujiyama

Jill was the redundant, repeat winner, as she really climbed Fujiyama (Japanese name) or Mt. Fuji (English). The suffix "yama" means "mountain" in Japanese.

Answer: handwritten manuscript

Dictionary.com defines "manuscript" as "the original text of an author's work, handwritten or now usually typed, that is submitted to a publisher," but "manuscript" originally referred to only a handwritten document, and it's from the Latin "manu" (by hand) and "scriptus" (written). Like many of these redundancies, the term has worked itself into regular usage.

Answer: The Nile River

The Nile River, the longest in the world at 4,258 miles, derives from the Greek "neilos" meaning "valley." Rio Grande of course translates to "big river" in Spanish. The Algonquin/Ojibwe Indian name "Misi-Ziibi" meaning "great river" gave us Mississippi. Paraguay River qualifies as a doubly redundant because both "para" and "guay" come from terms meaning "river," thus we have the "river river river."

Answer: the head chef

The word "chef" comes from the French "chef de cuisine" meaning "chief (or head) of cooking (or kitchen)", so we already know the chef is the head person in the kitchen. In de facto usage, many refer to head chefs, but never insult a chef by calling him or her a "cook".

Answer: ten

Redundancies in the passage are: twelve midnight (midnight, by definition, means "twelve o'clock at night"; armed gunman; advance warning; fill to capacity; shouted loudly; willingly complied; close proximity; surrounded on all sides; roughly estimated; $500 dollars (dollar sign).

Answer: Drawing on personal experience, he told the story from his own perspective,

The "personal experience" clause modifies and explains "his own perspective" in the main clause, so that sentence not unnecessarily repetitive. The first definition when one googles "moment" or looks in a dictionary is "a very brief period of time." Also, since "best" is a superlative, adding "ever" is redundant. Fundamentals are the basics of a subject, discipline, or endeavour. An autobiography is by definition a story of one's own life. Thus, the other three sentences contain redundancies.

Answer: because "hoi polloi" means "THE many" in Greek

"Hoi polloi" is an expression derived from the Greek meaning "the many." Its English usage came about in the 19th century as a way for the educated to refer to the uneducated masses. It had, and still has, a negative or derogatory connotation, although it has become more commonly used in a humorous or tongue-in-cheek fashion, as it was by The Three Stooges when they poked fun at themselves and "high society" in their eponymous 1935 film short.

Some synonyms of the term are: "the rabble", "the great unwashed", "riff raff", and "peons".

The whole idea is "we" (society people) are better than "they" (the rest, the "hoi polloi").

Answer: The massive beech tree had numerous branches overhanging the patio, providing shade in the summer.

Redundancies in the incorrect answers are: new discovery; end result; usual custom; tuna fish; diametrically opposed; vacillated back and forth: sharp point; specific examples.

Answer: cameo appearance

A "cameo" is a brief or uncredited appearance usually of a well known actor/actress in a film or play. The word "appearance" is therefore totally unnecessary in the phrase. "Military intelligence" and "jumbo shrimp" are examples of oxymorons, words that when put together create a jarring or incongruous effect for the reader, as they can seem to be contradictory. "Flying squirrel" is a misnomer, a commonly-accepted word or phrase which is technically incorrect, as in this case squirrels don't actually fly, they glide through the air after jumping from a tree, but cannot gain altitude.