Learn English – “Why and for what reasons”

expressions

I saw "Why and for what reasons […]" here and it seems to be present in other places.

Is it pure redundancy, or does the asker expect an anwer in two parts ("why" and "for what reasons")?

If it is redundant, why would someone use this expression instead of just "why"? Is it just showiness?

Best Answer

It's called pleonasm.

"Let me tell you this, when social workers offer you, free, gratis and for nothing, something to hinder you from swooning, which with them is an obsession, it is useless to recoil ..."

—Samuel Beckett, Molloy.

Sometimes figures of speech like this one are used to achieve some particular effect, in this case it's just an idiom being used by imitation, or habit.

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