The word "basically", I believe, qualifies for two threads-DRD and "What Phrases Irritiate You"(or whatever the title is). For instance: "Basically, there are basically 4 ways to do this". (I've heard people talk like that).
As a child in Alabama, teachers would ask me "Where is your grammar today?" My answer: Probably in her kitchen making biscuits.
The redundancy that drives me up the wall is people using 'moot' to try to close an argument. Moot _means_ argument! (well, discussion or meeting, anyway).
Moot means subjects or facts that are uncertain, unverified, irrelevant or subject to material dispute with regard to an argument. Usage would be key.
Actually, it means 'open and subject to debate' or 'to meet to discuss', and has for centuries. The connotation that it's irrelevant is a corruption based on the belief that 'moot courts' used by law students to practice arguing _closed_ cases are worthless. (because the cases were already decided) If you look, you'll find that the corruption of the word is relatively recent. "To moot things about" means to discuss it. As a practical example, in the Lord of the Rings, the 'EntMoot' is the meeting (moot) of the Ents. That signifies that the abuse of the word happened _after_ the period of time when Tolkien wrote the story. So, you could say that "moot courts" are irrelevant to the outside world, but "moot" simply means 'meeting'. It seems like people have a need to try to reverse meanings, don't they? (Look at 'let', which used to mean 'hinder', but now means 'allow')
