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ImageSMART TALK

by Dr. Shirley Glibb


DOOR NUMBER ONE: Los Libidos TV station KBUL, The Voice of Bedspring Tech, produces a campus quiz show that still uses this phrase.  A winning contestant must choose door number one or door number two to get a prize, hoping for something good and not the gag gift, such as a poster of various cuts of beef.

Sometimes, saying "number" before a number can help clarify, but writing it is usually just redundant.  A really smart emcee would simply say door one or door two.  Our President saying that something is his number one priority, then, is a double redundancy:  One is already a number, and a priority is that which is first.  Therefore, it's already at the top of his list.

Letter A, letter B, and so on, are usually verbiage, too.  And don't say excess verbiage. It's also redundant, and could be the number one way to be fatuous.



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