Don't be too too late?

[Torsten]

Hi, I just came across the phrase don't be too too late and wonder it means anything or if it's just a typo. Here is the paragraph it appeared in:

"Why don't you take the car home, Roger? I'll be back later". Their eyes met; his were cloudy, as though film were whizzing by at high speed, just beneath the surface. "As you wish," he said."But don't be too too late."

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Yankee]

The doubling of 'too' is usually done to indicate excessiveness. So, it here it would mean "But don't be excessively late."

[Alan]

Hi Torsten,

To my ear the 'too too' construction smacks very much of affectation. It is often used as spoof comedy when imitating the syle of 'a bright young thing' of the 1930s as comic characters in a novel (Vile Bodies) by Evelyn Waugh in an expression like 'You're too, too kind.'

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story In short

[Ahmadov]

...or this might be just a typo, as you said...
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Learning is a sacred engagement.

[Yankee]

The adjective 'too-too' can even be found in some dictionaries:
Webster's
Encarta