Wednesday word of the week – Brand New

OK, brand new is a phrase and not a word and this may be more of a rant than an explanation*, but this has been bothering me for a while … Why do people (particularly those in marketing) say something is brand new? The only definition I’ve been able to find is ‘completely new’. But new is like pregnant, dead or unique – either you are or you’re not. You can’t be slightly pregnant or fairly unique and an object can’t be just a little bit new.

While I’m ranting, semi-naked is just as bad. There’s no such thing. A person may not be wearing many clothes, but saying someone who’s removed their shirt is semi-naked is like referring to someone as mildly dead. (Unlike the people who built the sphinx who are really, totally and absolutely completely dead)

Are there any redundant or illogical expressions which annoy you?

2 thoughts on “Wednesday word of the week – Brand New

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *