Sent To The Gallows

Sometime back, a jobless man was reported to have been "sent to the gallows" by the judge, when what the paper meant was that the man was found guilty of a capital offence and he was SENTENCED to death. He's not dead yet. He may appeal the sentence. If you want to be stylish you may say that he was sentenced to be executed AT THE GALLOWS. Put it simply, "sent to the gallows" meant that the guilty man was already executed. Hanged in this case.

IRREGARDLESS or REGARDLESS

Regardless of what you may have read in the net or the newspapers, "Irregardless" is another common redundancy in English. The suffix "less" already makes the word negative. Hence, the addition of "ir" makes it a double negative. It does sound better though. Like Irrespective, irregularly or irrefutable. However, it is unacceptable in proper English. Although it is widely condemned in the American references, it has found its way into some American Dicitonaries. For instance, my Webster's New World Dictionary defines IRREGARDLESS as REGARDLESS - a non standard or humorous usage. It is also listed in the American Heritage Dictionary. The word is not found in English dictionaries.

Composite Picture

Two or more pictures (images or photographs) placed side by side or in a group should not be referred to as a composite picture. They are simply two or more pictures (images or photographs). A photograph made by combining two or more separate photographs is a composite picture. Common examples are a composite picture of the various phases of the moon during a lunar eclipse and a composite picture of a guy playing chess with himself. Magazine covers are very often composite images of various sections inside. Montages and collages are also special types of composite pictures.