Constance L. Lieber

I am collecting phrases we all use — sometimes without thinking — where the repetition is unnecessary. Here are two that I heard just yesterday. Send me any that you hear!

“two twins.” Source:  just about everyone. I have twins and I have heard this far too often: “Oh! Two twins!” You do know that the “two” is redundant, don’t you? Do you mean “two twins” in contrast to “three twins”? I would call that triplets. Note it: “twins” always means TWO children born to the same mother at around the same time (mine were three minutes apart).

“a foot of heavy white snow.” Source: weather forecaster in Johnson City, Tennessee. Is this “white snow” in contrast to blue snow or yellow snow? In my experience, snow falling from the sky is always white. That is in contrast to the gray snow lining the streets after a few hours.