The Antidote to Dumb

I've been feeling a bit dumb* lately given the striking absence of anything even remotely academic down here. So, imagine my delight today when I discovered a secret swimming pool** that wonders never cease harbors in one of its cabanas a small library!

There I was happy to come across this past Sunday's New York Times Magazine stashed between Edgar Sawtelle and some book about pie. I was glad for two very specific reasons, and their names are Ben Zimmer and Freddie Ljungberg.

Ben Zimmer is not my newest crush.*** Zimmer took over where (All hail) William Safire left off with the magazine's "On Language" a few years back. Some people loyally follow Heloise or the Peanuts; I follow Ben Zimmer.

So, here we go.

The word reiterate is redundant. The word iterate all by itself is a verb that means to repeat. Therefore, to say reiterate as in "Let me reiterate how Prince William is soooo going to regret marrying whatsherface," is in itself iterative, or repetitive. The "re" in reiterate is as unnecessary as the "re" in reduplicate. Think about it.

Good, don't you feel better now?

* recent examples include turning the heat on two nights ago instead of the air conditioning and the fact that the most intellectually engaging conversation I have had of late is one discussing what exactly a caper is. If anyone has any idea whatsoever...please...please...

**Admit it. It's one thing to find a secret garden, a secret code, or a secret sample sale, but it is another thing entirely to find a secret swimming pool with a library!

***Freddie Ljungberg, on the other hand, is (see brilliant).