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repetition |
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repetition [ˌrɛpɪˈtɪʃən] n 1. the act or an instance of repeating; reiteration 2. a thing, word, action, etc., that is repeated 3. a replica or copy 4. (Law) Civil and Scots law the recovery or repayment of money paid or received by mistake, as when the same bill has been paid twice Repetition See Also: CONTINUITY, DULLNESS
Repetition hark back To revert, to go back, to retrace one’s steps, to return to an earlier subject; to recall, to revive. This expression was originally used in hunting in reference to hounds who returned along the trail in order to pick up a lost scent. It has been used in its extended, figurative sense since the early 19th century. He has to hark back again to find the scent of his argument. (Robert Louis Stevenson, Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 1882) harp on To dwell on tediously, to repeat endlessly and monotonously, to belabor, to beat into the ground; also to harp on one or the same string. Ancient harpists reputedly played on only one string in order to demonstrate more fully their skill on the instrument. The phrase appears in Richard Grafton’s A Chronicle at Large and Mere History of the Affairs of England (1568), where it is attributed to Sir Thomas More: The Cardinal made a countenance to the Lord Haward that he should harp no more upon that string. The expression and its variants date from the 16th century. return to one’s muttons To get back to the subject at hand, to return to the point at issue; to stick to the point, to get back on track. Little known in the U.S., this British expression derives from the French Revenons à nos moutons ‘Let’s get back to our sheep.’ The line originated as an often repeated admonition in an early French play by Blanchet, L’Avocat Pathelin, in which the plaintiff continually tried to discredit the defense’s lawyer by claiming he had stolen from him. The judge’s attempts to concentrate on the charge against the defendant, that he had stolen sheep, were marked by addressing the line Revenons à nos moutons to the plaintiff. The phrase was much quoted by Rabelais, which accounts for its wider currency. ride a hobbyhorse See OBSESSION. ring the changes To repeat the same thing in different ways; to vary the manner in which one performs a routine task. Originally, ring the changes referred to performing all possible permutations in ringing a set of bells. The expression is commonly applied figuratively to describe changing the order of a series of words, restating a fact or opinion in several different ways, or varying one’s technique in accomplishing an otherwise routine task. They shall only ring you over a few changes upon three words: crying, Faith, Hope and Charity; Hope, Faith and Charity, and so on. (John Eachard, The Grounds and Occasions of the Contempt of the Clergy and Religion Enquired Into, 1670) run that by me again A somewhat rude request to have information repeated, usually (but not necessarily) similar in tone to “Come again.” The likelihood is that the expression’s origin lies in the electronic re-runs and replays made commonplace by tape recordings and videotape. ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
repetition noun 1. recurrence, repeating, reappearance, duplication, echo He wants to avoid repetition of the confusion. 2. repeating, redundancy, replication, duplication, restatement, iteration, reiteration, tautology, recapitulation, repetitiousness He could have cut much of the repetition and saved pages. Translations Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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