Redundancy Quiz #34 for Writers: Can You Score 100%?

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Redundancy Quiz #34

What Are Redundancies?

These nuisances are superfluous words or phrases also known as pleonasms. Rather than augment writing, they slow action scenes and increase word count — without adding constructive details.

About The Quiz

This quiz, the thirty-fourth in its series, offers ten sentences containing redundancies, and ten suggested solutions.

They are edited examples from books, news media, television shows, and overheard conversations.

The Answers Are Often in the Definitions

It’s time to discard and eliminate those uncalled-for redundancies.

In most cases, you should recognize the superfluous words when you scrutinize the definitions.

And maybe your muse will find story ideas among the changes and suggestions.

Can You Find Every Redundant Word or Phrase?

  1. They’re not any longer in the executive lounge anymore.
  2. A lush carpet covered the entire floor.
  3. Gather the books together and lay them down on the table.
  4. The basic fundamental principles of democracy must be respected by everyone.
  5. She is a unique one-of-a kind woman, unafraid of misogynistic remarks.
  6. He blinked rapidly when he heard someone cocking a gun on the other side of the door.
  7. We will miss each and every single one of the employees who was laid off.
  8. I have to go and get water before we leave for the airport.
  9. I don’t like e-mail newsletters. They clutter up my inbox, and I ultimately end up unsubscribing to them.
  10. George led the way, and Wally followed along, until they reached the very end of the tunnel.
Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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Suggested Edits

Edit #1: They’re not any longer in the executive lounge anymore.

anymore: any longer

If we were to reword the sentence by replacing anymore by its definition, we’d get: They’re not any longer in the executive lounge any longer.

Depending on context, the sentence could be tightened even further: They’re not in the executive lounge.

Alternate wording: They [deserted, disappeared from, exited, left] the executive lounge. [Why? Where did they go next? Who are “they”?]

Edit #2: A lush carpet covered the entire floor.

cover: to spread over a surface to conceal or protect; to hide from view

If an object is concealed or hidden from view, the entire object is concealed.

Alternate wording: A [bright, lurid, luxurious, plush, faded, threadbare] carpet [blanketed, concealed, hid] the floor.

Edit #3: Gather the books together and lay them down on the table.

gather: to bring together

lay: to put down

Alternate wording: [Grab, Seize, Steal] the books and [burn, hide, stash] them [in the incinerator, in the underground vault, in the hidden compartment].

Edit #4: The basic fundamental principles of democracy must be respected by everyone.

fundamental: basic, rudimentary

principle: a fundamental truth that serves as the foundation for a system of belief

Alternate wording: The [concepts, ideologies, tenets] of [egalitarianism, fairness, social equality] must be [embraced, honored, valued] by everyone.

Edit #5: She is a unique one-of-a kind woman, unafraid of misogynistic remarks.

unique: unequalled; only one of its kind

Alternate wording: She is [a distinctive, an exceptional, an irreplaceable] [administrator, driving force, executive, powerhouse], unafraid of [bigotry, chauvinism, discrimination, prejudice].

Edit #6: He blinked rapidly when he heard someone cocking a gun on the other side of the door.

blink: to shut and open the eyes rapidly

Alternate wording: He [cringed, dived to the floor, whined, winced] when he heard [a click, a deep voice, footsteps, laughing] on the other side of the door.

Edit #7: We will miss each and every single one of the employees who was laid off.

each: every single; every one

Even better: We will miss every employee who was laid off.

Alternate wording: We will [feel the loss of, regret the absence of] every [caretaker, tech, worker, member of staff] who was [dismissed, let go, terminated].

Edit #8: I have to go and get water before we leave for the airport.

get: to go somewhere and fetch someone or something

Alternate wording: I have to [buy, fetch, grab] [coffee, electrolyte powder, kombucha, pop, soda] before we leave for the [depot, spaceport, station, terminal].

Edit #9: I don’t like e-mail newsletters. They clutter up my inbox, and I ultimately end up unsubscribing to them.

clutter: to mess up; to stir up; to mix up

ultimately: in the end; finally

Alternate wording: I [dislike] e-mail newsletters. They [flood, inundate, overflow, overwhelm, swamp] my inbox and I [block the senders, cancel my subscriptions, never have enough time to read them].

Edit #10: George led the way, and Wally followed along, until they reached the very end of the tunnel.

lead: to show someone the way

follow: to go along; to travel along

end: extremity

You can’t get any farther than the end of something, because the end is its extremity.

Alternate wording: George [guided, ran interference], and Wally [tailed, trailed] until they [found the end, located the terminus] of the tunnel.

Master List of Redundancy Quizzes for Writers

Find thousands of writing tips and word lists in
The Writer’s Lexicon series
and additional resources on my Facebook page.
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12 thoughts on “Redundancy Quiz #34 for Writers: Can You Score 100%?”

  1. “He blinked rapidly when he heard someone cocking a gun on the other side of the door.”
    “Blink: to shut and open the eyes rapidly”

    Even though the definition of “blink” characterizes it as a rapid motion, I believe that the phrase “blinked rapidly” conveys a very specific and separate image. When I think blink, I think of the involuntary, intermittent movement that our eyes are doing all the time. It might be rapid but we don’t give any thought to it. If an author said that a character blinked rapidly, I’m imagining an unnatural rhythm. Opening-and-shutting of the eyes in very quick succession. “Shuttering” is the word that comes to mind.

    I hope that makes sense. I was struggling a bit with putting my rationale into words.

    • Thanks for commenting, Olivia.

      I remember a saying I encountered years ago: “Fast blinks are for cars and slow blinks are for cats.”

      With fast-blinking turn signals, “fast” refers to the interval between blinks, not to the blinks themselves.

      The slow blink recommended for cats isn’t a slow blink at all, but a partial, slow, closing of the eyes that is interpreted by a cat as a smile.

      Blink. Now try to blink even faster. You can blink several times with a long interval or with a fast interval between blinks, but each blink is fast. “Blink rapidly” would refer, as with car turn signals, to the space between blinks, not a single blink.

      “Blink,” when indicating a light or a light source, has several synonyms, including “flash” and “flicker,” which indicate brief or sudden actions.

      “Blinked rapidly” would work for a character who blinks several times, which is more likely to indicate the person trying to hold back tears or dislodge a foreign object from an eye.

  4. Hi Kathy,

    Unfair on #1. The original was, “They’re no longer in the executive lounge anymore.” but the edited one was “They’re not any longer in the executive lounge anymore.” “any longer” was crossed out which would have been entirely fair had “not” actually been “no” 🙂

    In no #5, “She is a unique one-of-a kind woman, unafraid of misogynistic remarks.” you cross out “one-of-a kind woman” but that unfortunately leaves “She is a unique, unafraid of misogynistic remarks.” 🙂

    James

  5. Hi Kathy,

    Your lessons are valuable. I love the testing.

    Thank you,

    Robert

Comments are closed.