Identify the sentence that is not redundant in standard usage.

• A. We made an unexpected surprise appearance.
• B. We made a surprise appearance.
• C. We made an appearance.
• D. We made an unexpected appearance.

Answer: (B)

Redundancy happens when two words convey the same idea. Here, “surprise” already signals that the appearance wasn’t anticipated, so adding “unexpected” creates a pleonasm. The natural, standard way to express this idea is “We made a surprise appearance” because “surprise appearance” is a common collocation that conveys an appearance that surprised people without repeating meaning. The other options feel heavier or less precise: pairing “unexpected” with “surprise” doubles the idea; omitting any hint of surprise (“We made an appearance”) misses the intended nuance; and “We made an unexpected appearance” is correct and clear but less idiomatic and concise than the chosen phrasing.