whole entire.
This is a common redundancy — e.g.:
o “This has them ranked sixth in the whole entire [delete ‘whole entire’] nation, greatly reducing their margin of error for reaching their four-loss quota.” Bob Wojnowski, “They’re No Longer Many, So Here Are a Few Heartfelt Suggestions to Help Restore Irish Spring,” Detroit News, 26 Sept. 1997, at D1.
o “Her sister, Doris G. Roupe, . . . was by her sister’s side the whole entire time of [read ‘throughout’] her illness.” “Cletis Opal Gibson Johnson” (obit.), Roanoke Times, 13 Nov. 1997, at B2.
For information about the Language-Change Index click here.
Quotation of the Day: “Writing should be concrete. It should evoke images and refer to something the reader can identify with particular experiences. A general concept like motion is interesting to a philosopher, but an ordinary reader wants to know what is moving, how fast, whether it is going toward him or away from him, and what effect the motion of this object will have on his income or his likelihood of getting a good night’s sleep.” Sumner Ives, A New Handbook for Writers 317 (1960).
