- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
Print 
SMART TALK
by Dr. "Gabby" Macron
GENERAL CONSENSUS OF OPINION: If this title looks odd, good for you. You normally don't encounter the consensus redundancy as a triple play. But if either general consensus or consensus of opinion looks normal to you, I withdraw the congratulations.
Look at consensus. "Con" means together, which implies "general," and the rest of the word relates to "sense," feeling, or opinion.
So consensus means general sense, general feeling, or general opinion. Do the poor souls who use general consensus or consensus of opinion simply not speak English as a first language, or are they trying to inflate their self importance by using several words where one will do?
v8i47