(Note: I'm not talking about the same kind of redundancy as in this question).
Is "may or may not" correct, or is it a redundant version of "may or not"? I've seen both, and I don't know which one(s) is (are?) correct:
- The position of lecturer is occasionally given to individuals […] who may or not have a doctoral degree.
- The position of lecturer is occasionally given to individuals […] who may or may not have a doctoral degree.
Best Answer
If you take the phrase as a whole idiom—rather that the sum of its parts—it is not redundant. The point of its use is to highlight a common assumption that does not apply. In your example, it could be assumed that a lecturer would need a doctoral degree, and the idiom dispels this notion.