Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 28
  1. #1
    Boisterously Confused
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    9,434

    Default English words that are legit, but stupidly redundant

    First, let's face it: an English dictionary has more redunancies than a White House mainframe power supply. Still, some are headscratching-worthy.

    My personal annoyance: "utilize." Gets used all the time, and I've hated it since my tech business days when our sales guys loved throwing it around. Still, I invite you to look at Webster and tell me what it's got to say that "use" doesn't cover

  2. #2
    Mighty Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    1,728

    Default

    yeah, "utilize" is sorta inescapable. I see "utilization weight" used regularly as a substitute for the sum of gross weights for large shipments. since each piece of cargo has a net weight, a tare weight, and a gross weight... utilization gets used to account for gross weights in a way that doesn't corrupt the data of smaller units in the shipment.

    from a purely data management perspective it makes a lot of sense. but it can feel really redundant when you're just having a conversation.

    I had that feeling when I first saw the word "simp". I thought to myself, "but we already have the word uxorious! why would we want to replace that!" ;-)
    [because it is too context specific, it only applies to men who are overly fond of, and devoted to, their wives. so, I guess "simp" needed to come into being!]

  3. #3
    Invincible Jersey Ninja Tami's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    32,087

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    First, let's face it: an English dictionary has more redunancies than a White House mainframe power supply. Still, some are headscratching-worthy.

    My personal annoyance: "utilize." Gets used all the time, and I've hated it since my tech business days when our sales guys loved throwing it around. Still, I invite you to look at Webster and tell me what it's got to say that "use" doesn't cover
    There is a difference between the two words, even if it is slight. "utilize" means to make PRACTICAL use of [something]. "Use" has a much broader definition.

    However, it is true that the English Language has some redundancy, mostly because of all the borrowed words and the evolution of American (or other variants) from British English.

    Still, most seemingly redundant words do tend to have different meanings from each other.
    Original join date: 11/23/2004
    Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.

  4. #4
    Boisterously Confused
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    9,434

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tami View Post
    There is a difference between the two words, even if it is slight. "utilize" means to make PRACTICAL use of [something]. "Use" has a much broader definition.

    However, it is true that the English Language has some redundancy, mostly because of all the borrowed words and the evolution of American (or other variants) from British English.

    Still, most seemingly redundant words do tend to have different meanings from each other.
    It's so slight as to be bullshit. Its only reason for its existence is to make the speaker sound smarter than they are.
    Last edited by DrNewGod; 01-01-2024 at 06:51 PM.

  5. #5
    Invincible Jersey Ninja Tami's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    32,087

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    It's so slight as to be bullshit. Its only reason for its existence is to make the speaker sound smarter than they are.
    There are at least two types of English. One sometimes referred to as Low English or Common English or Working Class English. You can also call it everyday English.

    The Other is sometimes called High English or Academic English or Professional English or Upper Class English. That is when you are trying to sound impressive.

    [In this day and age I suspect that there are a number of other variations].
    Original join date: 11/23/2004
    Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.

  6. #6
    BAMF!!!!! KurtW95's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    8,913

    Default

    I wouldn't say it's redundant, but it's a word that people use when they want to sound smart.
    Good Marvel characters- Bring Them Back!!!

  7. #7
    Astonishing Member Zelena's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2019
    Posts
    4,506

    Default

    I am always surprised by all the new English words I meet everyday… True, some words are very rare but the English language feels really like a vacuum cleaner that has taken everything. And without having polishing them: the pronounciation is not sometimes that easy to guess…

    Quote Originally Posted by KurtW95 View Post
    I wouldn't say it's redundant, but it's a word that people use when they want to sound smart.
    The words that I tend to use are the words that look closer to French, my language and it’s not a will to sound to smart.
    “Strength is the lot of but a few privileged men; but austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the smallest of us and rarely fails of its purpose, for its silent power grows irresistibly greater with time.” Goethe

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member Mister Mets's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    18,866

    Default

    Much of this is the result of English getting so many loan words, with the original germanic base combining with Roman vocabulary. This leads to some redundancy, in addition to incredible opportunities for nuance and expression.
    Sincerely,
    Thomas Mets

  9. #9
    My Face Is Up Here Powerboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    7,719

    Default

    There are also words or terms that are used incorrectly, replacing the correct terms.

    I hate the term "Very unique." So, since "unique" means "one of a kind", very unique must mean that there are not any at all.

    People use unique when they mean rare. So they have to exaggerate when they mean unique and say very unique.

    Also, in college, I had an English professor who would not accept the word "Persons" in anything we wrote. He would say, "The plural of person is PEOPLE."

    He would also not accept the word "kid" as applied to a human child, declaring, "A kid is a baby goat. A human baby is a baby or child."

    Clearly, he would not accept popular usage or that words change in meaning and mean whatever a reasonable number of people have come to accept that they mean.
    Power with Girl is better.

  10. #10
    Mighty Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    1,728

    Default

    [LOL, thank you Powerboy, for beating me to the punch on thread derailment. now I don't feel quite as guilty/selfish ;-) ]

    in some ways I'm more bothered by blatant and agenda-driven word substitutions that don't stem from natural usage.

    I was just reading "Surveillance Capitalism" (Shoshanna Zuboff) the other day and the author uses an expression "Rational Capitalism". it was abundantly clear (in context) that "rational" was meant to be a substitution for the words "fair" or "equitable"... and I found myself asking "why do you refuse to use the word 'fair'? that would make your argument clearer and more forceful. is it because that makes it a definitive value judgement? is this because value judgements tend to be moral positions that can be condemned or ignored? I can imagine WHY somebody would choose this sort of subversive word substitution... but it still bothered me.

    using 'rational' to mean something completely different from its dictionary definition seems... dishonest and weird."

    I would imagine that a more dogmatic or traditional socialist or Marxist wouldn't consider "rational capitalism" as something to be strived for! which tells me she's probably a social democrat. not only would I not be bothered by a Social Democrat using the word "Fair" as a modifier for Capitalism when it was appropriate... I would EXPECT a social democrat to use a phrase like "Fair Capitalism". "Rational Capitalism" just makes it sound like an odd mixture of cop-out and dog-whistle.

    when we have existing words that convey the idea more clearly... use those words! sometimes I think academics are TRYING to obscure their real argument in an attempt to subvert criticism.

  11. #11
    My Face Is Up Here Powerboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    7,719

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    It's so slight as to be bullshit. Its only reason for its existence is to make the speaker sound smarter than they are.
    "We will use our resources."

    "We will utilize our resources."

    Somehow, the former conjures an image of "We will use them and, then, they'll be gone. We won't have them anymore." The latter conjures an image of properly utilizing what we have to work with.
    Power with Girl is better.

  12. #12
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    2,844

    Default

    One of the nice things about English is that its vocabulary is rich in synonyms. This lets you choose just the right word among several possibilities with subtle (usually implied) differences in meaning, and it lets you pick a different word if you have used the same word too many times in the same paragraph or if it sounds awkward in a particular sentence (such as if it is surrounded by other words that sound too much like it). What I don't like is using an uncommon or lengthy word or a phrase needlessly when a simple word means exactly the same thing, for instance as when people say "at this point in time" rather than "now".

  13. #13
    BAMF!!!!! KurtW95's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    8,913

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Totoro Man View Post
    I had that feeling when I first saw the word "simp". I thought to myself, "but we already have the word uxorious! why would we want to replace that!" ;-)
    Doesn't simp come from simpering?
    Good Marvel characters- Bring Them Back!!!

  14. #14
    Astonishing Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    2,844

    Default

    Have I misunderstood the meaning of "simp"? I thought it was just a short form for "simpleton".

  15. #15
    Invincible Jersey Ninja Tami's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    32,087

    Default

    It means both or either:

    1. a foolish or stupid person : simpleton

    2. to show excessive devotion to or longing for someone or something
    Original join date: 11/23/2004
    Eclectic Connoisseur of all things written, drawn, or imaginatively created.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •