JS Tip 568: Conciseness and Tautology (What?)

A friend asked, “What’s a tautology?” 

We answered, “The study of Dorothy’s dog.” 

Ahhh. Whoops. Nope. That’s “totology.” 

A tautology is an unintended repetition. 

You’ll see them in acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations: 

VIN number (Vehicle Identification Number number)

PIN number (Personal Identification Number number) 

Please RSVP (RSVP is an initialism for the French “Répondez, s’il vous plaît,” or “Please respond” or “Hey, please let us know you’re coming so we know how many pizzas to order.” So “Please RSVP” is the tautology “Please please respond.”) 

You’ll see them in text:

Evening sunset (When else would the sun set?)

Necessary requirement (If it’s a requirement, isn’t it necessary?)

Dry desert (Are there wet deserts?) 

So what are we saying?

Review your writing. Check for unintended repetition. (And, no, not all repetition is unintended. Sometimes repetition is deliberate to provide emphasis. Yes. Yes! YES!)  

This is fun. 

We love this stuff. 

Any questions, let us know.