redundancy
Apple announced Friday that it will recall some of its ultracompact USB power adapters because, “under certain conditions,” the adapter’s metal prongs can break off and remain in a power outlet, “creating the risk of electric shock.”
The press release continued: “Customer safety is always Apple’s top priority so it has voluntarily decided to exchange [...]

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conditional vs. future tense
Are Charlie Sheen and his wife, Brooke, expecting a boy? Are they certain of the baby’s gender or is it just a hunch? We can pick up clues about the degree of certainty from the tense of language people use when describing the developing baby.
Two and A Half Men co-star Holland Taylor [...]

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fewer vs. less
Michelle Obama dubbed the week Women’s Week of Action, making a concerted appeal to female voters, some of whom may be taken with “Palin Power.”
Michelle began a dash-heavy memo to supporters with the observation: “It’s hard to believe there are less than 50 days before Election Day.”
It’s also hard to believe none [...]

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historic vs. historical
This morning in Minneapolis, Fox 9 traffic reporter Juli Jay called the opening of the new Interstate 35W bridge a “historical” day. This is a linguistic mistake we hear often as people describe the nature of the presidential campaign underway. So let’s set the record straight.

Historical is about or related to history, [...]

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redundancy
CBS’ 60 Minutes will devote its entire broadcast Sunday to profiles of John McCain and Barack Obama. Steve Kroft explained the decision. “I can’t get into a cab or have a conversation with somebody on the street without the conversation turning to politics,” he said. “The country is totally engaged right now.”
Engaged, by definition, means [...]

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