Dunce and Redunce

Airline agents are fond of asking passengers to take their seats quickly because the aircraft is "very full." But are there degrees of fullness? A container of any kind, including an airplane, can be half full, or nearly full, or some other descriptor denoting partial. But once something is full, it's full, and can't be fuller or fullest.

There is something to be said for redundancy for the sake of emphasis, but there is even more to be said for economy of usage and a need to be clear without beating the reader over the head. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

Lawyers are fond of facts, even when they're not true. We heard one say in a courtroom, "Every fact that came out of his mouth was a lie." And they often cite "true facts" in submitting briefs and arguments. Which is good, since as the grammar guru Edwin Newman once wrote, false facts are of no use.

Then there was the academic who repeatedly cited a "whole range" of various things. Perhaps he meant to contrast it with a half range. Big or small, wide or narrow, a range is a range. Use these modifiers instead.

And finally, there is the wonderful phrase, "a fight to the finish." All fights end in a finish. The phrase may sound good, but it has no real meaning. But that's true of a lot of political rhetoric; it sounds good, but has no meaning. Good writers stick to phrases that have real, substantial meaning.