An article in The Oregonian had the expression, "...thermal heat: in it. Is there another kind of heat? Does my local rag know something I don't?

Tautology, I would say.

thermal heat: in it. Is there another kind of heat


Dead heat.

If you were referring to this article, the online version doesn't contain the phrase "thermal heat". I did find a real estate listing that mentions "geothermal heat", which is perfectly proper.

That being said, the article in question uses the phrase "thermal energy" over and over, in a very loose manner. It isn't the fault of The Oregonian though. The project being described is the culprit.

When I was looking at it, the BREAKING NEWS at the top was:

Rock strikes, injures youth hiking at camp in Hoodoo Ski area.

Good question. Of course, a dog goes into heat, but I can't imagine they're worried about that distinction. I think Richard is probably right (this may be a first! )

The study of taut: ...... tautology.