- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
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Smart Talk SMART TALK By Dr. Les Terse
WHERE IT’S AT: Back in 1957, when the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired opened in a converted feed store over on Amanita Drive, redundancies like this were mostly limited to jazz musicians.
Where it’s at is a good example of a tautology. Department of Redundancy Dept. demonstrates repetition and is easy to spot. Rio Grande River, not repetition, is a redundancy because “rio” means “river,” but a tautology is more subtle. “Where” includes the concept of “at” in a question-and-answer way, as in, “Where is she?” “She is at work.” So saying where it’s at sounds like overkill when you think about it. Say where it is, or ask where is it instead of the ignorant sounding where’s it at.
Many of the old blues players also shouted, “One more time!” when calling for another chorus. We at the Institute wonder how they missed learning once more.
Both of these expressions have spread, like Hillary rumors, faster than we at the Institute could control them.
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