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Dear journalism students:

“A Connecticut man attacked a local Dunkin Donuts . . “

The word “local” here is meaningless. I’ll leave it to you to figure out why.

Hint: Could he have attacked a Dunkin Donuts in Virginia, from where he was?

12 posted on 03/08/2013 5:23:17 AM PST by Chad N. Freud (FR is the modern equivalent of the Committees of Correspondence. Let other analogies arise.)

The word “local” here is meaningless. I’ll leave it to you to figure out why.

I believe you are arguing that it is a pleonasm, not necessarily that it is meaningless. But in context, the context of a local media outlet, it immediately lets the listener know that it refers to something in that outlet's coverage area and not in Hartford or Boston or New York or Kuala Lumpur, and therefore, it is not even pleonastic.

Perhaps in posting, our brother or sister Freeper could have phrased it "local [New Britain, CT]".

17 posted on 03/08/2013 5:32:52 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (What word begins with "O" and ends in economic collapse?)