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Don't be too too late?



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
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Don't be too too late? #1 (permalink) Sun Feb 11, 2007 20:14 pm   Don't be too too late?
 

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?

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Torsten

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Don't be too too late? #2 (permalink) Sun Feb 11, 2007 23:27 pm   Don't be too too late?
 

The doubling of 'too' is usually done to indicate excessiveness. So, it here it would mean "But don't be excessively late."
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Don't be too too late? #3 (permalink) Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:52 am   Don't be too too late?
 

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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Don't be too too late? #4 (permalink) Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:14 am   Don't be too too late?
 

...or this might be just a typo, as you said...
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Don't be too too late? #5 (permalink) Mon Feb 12, 2007 17:06 pm   Don't be too too late?
 

The adjective 'too-too' can even be found in some dictionaries:
Webster's
Encarta
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meaning of 'piled high' | meaning of 'remotely approaching reality'
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