Does anyone know of a good reverse dictionary where you can find a word for something?

In another thread CJ mentioned "decapitated head", an obvious redundancy. I read about another this weekend, where a columnist called a "greedy legislator" a redundancy. This concept would be the opposite of an "oxymoron." What are other "redundancies" that you can think of?

Perhaps tautology is the word you seek?

I suggest that "decapitated head" is oxymoronic. You can only decapitate a body, surely.

Richard English

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Perhaps tautology is the word you seek?

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Maybe; a tautology is a "needless" redundancy. Asa, could a tautology then be used in a word game, like "greedy legislators"? I think that would be fun, similar to oxymorons. Or are tautologies simply wordiness redundancies?

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I suggest that "decapitated head" is oxymoronic

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Isn't an "oxymoron" composed of contradictory terms (e.g. like "deafening silence")? Are head and body contradictory?

What do the rest of you think?

[This message was edited by Kalleh on Tue Jul 22nd, 2003 at 20:47.]

I assumed that a "decapitated head" was a "headless head" - and that's an oxymoron.

Richard English

How about a tautamoron?

Yes, I think you're right, Richard.

Asa, I like the tautomoran term. What are some? I started with "greedy legislators".

Shady lawyers[with apologies to Shufitz ]

Lying politicians

Q: How do you know when a politician is lying.

A: His lips are moving.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

If I'm not mistaken, schwarz = black and negger = black

George Carlin: Lying Politicians And Words

If I'm not mistaken, schwarz = black and negger = black

Nope, you've misanalysed it. Sort of like an adder for a nadder. The break comes after the -n-: schwarzen 'black' + egger 'plowman'.Actually, in German an Egge is a 'harrow', a tool you use to break up the clods further left over after a plowing. There's another famous German surname with egger in it: Heidegger 'heath' + 'plowman'.