Armed Gunmen, True Facts, and Other Ridiculous Nonsense: A Compiled Compendium of Repetitive Redundancies

By Richard Kallan

Tautology- A word or group of words that unintentionally repeats its meaning. When was the last time you entered your PIN NUMBER into the ATM MACHINE? Or longed for the PERFECT UTOPIA? Using... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375423524
• ISBN13: 9780375423529
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Pantheon
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.2" x 0.7" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Clever & Enlightening

An exceptionally clever book about language that had me laughing as soon as I picked it up. It's also very informative, introducing readers to a wide variety of wordy linguistic redundancies (how's that for a tautology?) that most of us use all the time. The author shows how these unique redundancies, or tautologies, are repetitive by making his point with humor. Three of my favorites are UNDISCLOSED SECRET LOCATION--More clandestine than a disclosed secret location; HONEST TRUTH--When all other truths fail; and FOREIGN IMPORT--An import that hasn't been domesticated. Some of the redundancies listed strike me as more commonly used than others, but that's probably to be expected from a book that covers its subject comprehensively. Actually, since reading this book, I've found a few tautologies that I think the author missed. I guess you could say I'm now forever on Tautology Watch.

Who Says Armed Gunmen Aren't Funny?

Don't read Armed Gunmen, True Facts and Other Ridiculous Nonsense, unless laughing heartily is your thing. If you're one of those people who thinks an enjoyable learning experience is an oxymoron, then--whatever you do--avoid this book. However, if you enjoy an author who has mastered the turn-of-phrase,this book is definitely for you. But, be careful: Armed Gunmen can become a habitual addiction.

A book to savor

Armed Gunmen is a wonderfully funny little book to keep by your bedside and savor. It's a precious little book with an adorable cover, lovingly constructed pages, bizarre illustrations and, most of all, insightful humor. This was a gift that I've come to appreciate the more it's made me laugh, but also by what I've come to learn. Have you ever said "sudden impulse" or "temporary loan," or heard "the honest truth" or "an overused cliché?" Well I can no longer listen to radio or TV or read or write without being aware of tautologies that we hear and say everyday and also see in newspapers, magazines and, otherwise, well-written books. If you write, this book will make you much more aware of your writing, which will become tighter and cleaner, by no longer being polluted with repetitive constructs. Dr. Kallan's comments can be very funny as they illustrate how ridiculous our tautologies can be when understood literally. Often, they literally mean something very different than intended, and that's when the book is at its best. I go to bed each night with a smile.

When Words Get in the Way

This cleverly illustrated little volume was featured in Entertainment Weekly's "The Must List" recently. I didn't realize that those annoying "repetitive redundancies" which sometimes clutter our writing are known formally as "tautologies." After turning a few pages of "Armed Gunmen. . ." I became uncomfortably aware of how often I use them. However, author Richard Kallan, it turns out, is a forgiving and witty tutor, and I think I'm on the road to recovery. Not one to beat a good idea to death, Kallan offers a brief preface about the nature of tautologies, making sure we do not confuse them with those dire pleonasms or tedious circumlocutions, then refreshingly cuts to the chase. I say refreshing because I'm still plodding through the preliminaries of "Eats, Shoots

"Candy for the Mind"

I have just read and can't recommend enough Rich Kallan's new book, Armed Gunmen, True Facts & Other Ridiculous Nonsense. It is wickedly funny, a gathering of everyday tautologies---those two terms repeating each other that we don't even blink at. Can we again say "entering in" after Kallan has pointed out that "entering out" would be a neat trick? Laughter never ceases as Kallan wittily rounds up the plethora of tautologies that pervades our language. Should we feel a twinge of guilt as we speak of a Joint Partnership defined by Kallan as "a couple of potheads sharing dope"? A Three-Sided Triangle brings out: "Welcome to Remedial Math". And who wouldn't laugh out loud at his definition of a Single Bachelor as a "free-ranging Chicken"? Two of the best known Latin aphorisms come to mind, after mirth subsides. First, that motto of comedy that Kallan might take as his own: Castigat Ridendo Mores (It Chastises our Ways through Laughter). Only, I am not sure that Rich Kallan wants to chastise anyone or anything. He prefers to exercise his sense of humor with a conspiratorial wink in our direction, as we tap out our PIN number on the ATM machine. So, perhaps, the Horace-based words Bis Repetita Placent (Things Twice Repeated Please) would confirm him in his conviction that tautologies will continue to flourish. The illustrations alone are worth the price of the book. Buy Armed Gunmen for yourself, and a few copies for your Personal Friends, instead of Bouquets of Flowers. It is small, easy to pocket, it is candy for the mind.