Department of Redundancy Department

English

WOTD – 13 April 2019

Etymology

A deliberately redundant term due to the repetition of department.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt əv ɹɪˈdʌnd(ə)nsi dɪˈpɑːtm(ə)nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dəˈpɑɹtmənt əv ɹɪˈdʌndən(t)si dəˈpɑɹtmənt/

• Audio (AU)

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• Hyphenation: De‧part‧ment of Re‧dun‧dan‧cy De‧part‧ment

Proper noun

Department of Redundancy Department

1. (humorous) A fictitious department that is cited to draw attention to needless repetition or excessiveness. [in print from 1970s]
   • 1979, Michael J. Gross, The How to Go to College Book, Passage, →OCLC, page 84:

     Most writers can make the most startling advances in their writing simply by working to eliminate their Department of Redundancy Department.

   • 1985, Datamation, volume 31, Newton, Mass.: Cahners Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 100, column 1:

     It is a redundancy of information processing as well as other efforts. Redundancy can take many forms. Most commonly, it is two or more people or organizations doing similar work for similar purposes and producing (it is hoped) similar (redundant) results. The Department of Redundancy Department exists because a great many people are doing a great many similar things with identical but separate data. If the use of data were controlled, these people and things would be known.

   • 1989, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois Press for the Council for Research in Music Education, →OCLC, page 79:

     Many students in graduate school make tongue-in-cheek comments about the redundancy contained in most dissertations: "If the sentence isn't in there three times, it's not important. … this dissertation resulted from a grant from the Department of Redundancy Department." Ellis's work is an excellent example of a paper written with every apparent attempt to avoid redundancy; it is concise, brief, definitely not wordy, and reports data on an important problem.

   • 2006, Ellen Sandbeck, “Laundry”, in Organic Housekeeping: In Which the Non-toxic Avenger Shows You How to Improve Your Health and That of Your Family, while You Save Time, Money, and, Perhaps, Your Sanity, New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 225:

     A Message from the Department of Redundancy Department: There is almost nothing less efficient than having to do a job over again.

   • 2012, Steve Burton, “Rules of Engagement”, in Staying Afloat: Three Years in Abu Dhabi, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, part 8 (Onward and Sideways—Vignettes), page 152:

     A driver's immersion certificate, my fictitious wallpaper diploma, is not a prerequisite to receive a UAE driver's license. But it should be. Likewise, basic driving coursework is not a requirement. But it should be. In my eccentric dreams, I suggested to the Driver Education Department, a subdepartment of the Department of Higher Complexity, or possibly the Department of Redundancy Department, that the following classes become mandatory: Course – Basic UAE Freeway Driving 1A […]

   • 2013, Robert Stetson, “Eternal Peace, at Last”, in The Beguilers: A Warning, [Morrisville, N.C.]: Lulu Press, →ISBN:

     Ernie and I are reassigned to the Department of Wellness Assurance and Reassessment Information, better known as the D.O.W.E.R.I. Department. I laugh and say, "Only the government can start and end the name of a department with the word 'department.'" Ernie says, "Yes, perhaps we should report the repetition problem to the Department of Redundancy Department."

   • 2015, John E. Purple, “The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)”, in 4F: Finding Fenn’s Factory Foibles: A Working Boy’s Path to the Navy, Victoria, B.C.: FriesenPress, →ISBN, part II (The U.S. Navy), page 55:

     […] I was part of the project selection team that met each year at the Office of Naval Research, to accept or reject funding requests. […] Of course, the projects that made it up to our top level had already been triaged by lower sponsoring commands. One of the briefers was a real comedian, introducing himself as from the Department of Redundancy Department—a phrase I am fond of quoting in my own talks since then.

Alternative forms

• DRD (initialism)

Translations

fictitious department cited to draw attention to needless repetition or excessiveness

See also

• RAS syndrome