Does the greeting "Good Yom Tov" contain a redundancy? Doesn't "Yom Tov" mean "Good day"? So you are saying "Good good day?"
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2The "Tov" means that the day in general is good. The "good" means that I hope your particular experience on this day is good and enjoyable.– YpnypnMay 30, 2014 at 18:24
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Tov Yom Good to you too!– Double AA ♦May 30, 2014 at 20:29
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Note that idioms do not need to be literally correct. This is an idiom for Have a good ho(i/y)day– sabbahillelJul 28, 2016 at 12:48
2 Answers
This is a matter of idiom. "Yom Tov" while literally meaning "Good Day" is the idiom for a day that is "good" because of the spiritual level of that day. Thus, when spoken as a single phrase, the translation is similar to the English original "Holy Day" which we now use as "holiday". The Yiddish "Yumtuf" or "Yuntif" shows that it is used a a single meaning. Thus "Good Yuntif" would not be considered a redundancy. It is the equivalent of "Happy Holiday".
This answer was approved by the Department of Redundancy department (:-)
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Funny ... I hope people saw the humor in the question, as well. You didn't think I was 100% serious, did you?– DanFMay 30, 2014 at 21:00
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In Munkatch the custom is to say just Yom-Tov and not 'Git' Yom-Tov.
The Rebbe of Munkatch used to say that Git Yom Tuv is one of three redundant expressions in yiddish:
גוט יום טוב
מים אחרונים וואסער
אונגארישער נער