How to Sound Smart: Superfluous Words Edition

I’m sorry to say that I can offer no tips in sounding smart in German.  My communication skills involve a lot of hand gestures and a sad plea to have people speak slower please. “Langsom, bitte.” I dream of being fluent or at least semi-fluent one day.  But until then, no German language tidbits from me.  Yeah?

What I can offer you are a few tips in English for sounding like someone who knows what she’s talking about.  Well actually one is French.  Two English and one French.  The theme is unnecessary words.  You ready?

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1.  Please RSVP

Most people might not catch that the phrase “Please RSVP” is redundant.  RSVP means “Répondez s’il vous plaît“.  Just looking at the words, you can see that the general gist of the phrase is “respond please”.  So with the holiday season fast approaching, double check the invitations you’re sending out.  Your relatives might already have enough things to nitpick you about without a request to ”Please respond please.”

wedding invitation

2.  LCD Display

If you’re like me, conversations about LCDs don’t exactly come up very often.  But if you’re around a techy person, LCDs are what it’s all about.  To these guys, LCDs are to gizmos what whipped cream is to your hot chocolate.  LCD stands for “liquid crystal display“.  It’s a common thin, flat panel that displays information like images and movies.  If you have a new computer or cell phone, your screen may be an LCD.  The problem is that saying “LCD display” is as redundant as “Please RSVP.”  You’d be saying “Liquid Crystal Display Display.”  Oops.

iphone

3.  PIN Number

I might as well confess that I am working really hard on not saying “PIN Number”.  Why?  PIN = Personal Identification Number.  So I’m walking around, showing off my RSVP and LCD skills only to blurt out “Personal Identification Number Number”.  Well that and my butchered German!

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Know any other redundancies we say without knowing?  Or are you like me and always slipping on any of the ones above?  Tell me I’m not the only one!

If you’re thinking, “Gosh, these posts really do make me sound smart,” swing by the others in this series for a brainy good time: The Motors vs. Engines Edition and The Hardwood Floors & Tablesaws Edition.

(Images from Flickr)