I'm so glad you asked that question, my dear Thomas. Of course the reason you asked it, transparent to me, is not because you are more comfortable with the idea of appearing ignorant, but because you wanted to call attention to the fact that I used what appeared to be a rather redundant and probably oxymoronic phrase and you were so excited about pointing it out you couldn't wait to call everyone's attention to it and embarrass me. HOWEVER, in your customary haste to humiliate, you failed once again to consider the incredible breadth and depth of my knowledge, my awesome ability to recall arcane and useless scraps of grammatical trivia, and my amazing talent for mythomania or bullshit.
So, for your puerile edification, and I do hope it causes you a moment of dysphoria, I will elucidate:
"In and of itself" is a phrasal collocation, an idiomatic construction peculiar to English, that has been accepted by its usage even though it may appear grammatically illogical. These idioms provide charm and versatility to our language; they are little idiosyncrasies that delight by their rhythmic, euphonious presence in our sentences.
I do hope this little post has proved enlightening for you. It is neither here nor there, but I do enjoy bestowing on you odds and ends from my treasure trove of trivia. Such generosity is just part and parcel of my oh so pleasing and philonoistic personality package. |
