{"id":2531,"date":"2017-08-15T23:09:48","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T05:09:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2531"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:23:57","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:23:57","slug":"striking-the-surplus-from-tautologies-follow-up-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/striking-the-surplus-from-tautologies-follow-up-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Striking the Surplus from Tautologies (Follow-Up 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to comments from our readers, last week we revisited our\u00a0late April newsletter article<\/a>\u00a0on tautologies<\/em> by re-examining\u00a0vast majority<\/em>. Today, we\u2019ll conclude our review by looking more closely at two more terms:<\/p>\n

Contested Tautology #2:\u00a0Identical Match<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This noun phrase presents a similar issue to that raised among readers for\u00a0vast majority<\/em><\/a>. The question lies in whether we need a modifier to establish the degree of the noun for clarity\u2014in particular, a\u00a0partial\u00a0<\/em>match as opposed to an\u00a0identical<\/em>\u00a0match.<\/p>\n

Here we find another case where spoken idiom intrudes on careful, accurate writing. In speech, we all understand the speaker\u2019s intent behind phrases such as a\u00a0partial<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/em>an\u00a0identical match<\/em>. For instance, the distinction can enhance understanding in contexts involving forensic evidence (a\u00a0partial\u00a0<\/em>fingerprint\u00a0match<\/em>).<\/p>\n

For the word\u00a0match<\/em>, we\u2019ll once again consider common definitions from popular sources:<\/p>\n

[dictionary.com<\/a>]
\n1. a person or thing that equals or resembles another in some respect.
\n3. a person or thing that is an exact counterpart of another.<\/p>\n

[Merriam-Webster<\/a>]
\n1a: a person or thing equal to or similar to another
\n1c: an exact counterpart<\/p>\n

Another useful website for word definitions, ninjawords.com<\/a>, offers this:<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone [or something] with a measure of an attribute equaling or exceeding the object of comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n

We concede that a\u00a0partial\u00a0<\/em>vs. an\u00a0identical\u00a0<\/em>match can add clarity through speech. We also maintain our stance that writing affords more time and thought to be specific to the reader\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

Using the definitions provided as our points of reference, we wouldn\u2019t want to pair the concept of\u00a0partial\u00a0<\/em>with the defined\u00a0exact<\/em>\u00a0(also a synonym of\u00a0identical<\/em>), nor would we want to combine it with the idea of equaling or exceeding.<\/p>\n

Even the more elastic definitions (dictionary.com\u00a01 and Merriam-Webster 1a) discount the idea of\u00a0partial<\/em>\u00a0by allowing space for a simple resemblance or similarity, making a\u00a0partial match<\/em>\u00a0still a match.<\/p>\n

As we did for\u00a0vast majority<\/em>\u00a0last week,\u00a0<\/em>we recommend that writers who still wish to use\u00a0partial\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0identical match<\/em>\u00a0be specific in how the match is so. Otherwise, English offers other words and phrases for delivering the idea\u2014e.g., replace\u00a0partial match\u00a0<\/em>with\u00a0resemblance\u00a0<\/em>or similarity;<\/em>\u00a0replace\u00a0identical match\u00a0<\/em>with just\u00a0identical\u00a0<\/em>or the same.<\/em><\/p>\n

Contested Tautology #3:\u00a0Invited Guest<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A few of our readers also pointed out that a person can be a guest without being invited, such as at a restaurant or a hotel. This in turn would negate\u00a0invited guest<\/em>\u00a0as a tautology.<\/p>\n

Here once more we adjust our position by expanding it. We accept that a guest can be other than invited at a place of hospitality or entertainment (although with today\u2019s aggressive marketing through multiple channels, even the question of invitation can remain open). We also believe that\u00a0guest<\/em>\u00a0in this context is used to achieve professional formality; more accurate words in principle would be\u00a0patron<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0customer.<\/em><\/p>\n

If on the other hand the guest in question is one who visits a home, event, or function by invitation, the noun and its modifier would be redundant and therefore a tautology.<\/p>\n

Thanks again to all of you who reviewed, considered, and responded to this topic. Together, we make a strong team of advocates for clear, precise, and grammatical communication\u2014i.e., iron sharpening iron. We look forward to more exchanges with you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to comments from our readers, last week we revisited our\u00a0late April newsletter article\u00a0on tautologies by re-examining\u00a0vast majority. Today, we\u2019ll conclude our review by looking more closely at two more terms: Contested Tautology #2:\u00a0Identical Match This noun phrase presents a similar issue to that raised among readers for\u00a0vast majority. The question lies in whether […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,12,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions","category-effective-writing","category-idioms"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}