I have long considered the dear Ms. Dinsdale’s use of the phrase “a tad bit” to be the sole blemish on her otherwise perfection. Yet for some reason or another, she does not appear welcome my loving attempts to point out her verbal shortcoming.
Outside the comfort of my home, I regularly find my eyes and ears assaulted by this same jarringly redundant phrase, and was shocked - simply shocked, to see it used in this MB.
Could it possibly be that it is I who am a tad bit pedantic in my intolerance for this particular usage?
It doesn’t have to be redundant anymore than “a small miniature” does. You can use “tad” to modify “bit” to mean something smaller than even a normal sized bit.
I see what you are getting at but you can use modifiers even on other modifiers for extra effect.
An alternate phrase is “a wee bit”. I think that one makes it even more clear that someone is using a modifier on “bit” for an exaggerated effect perhaps for sarcasm or other comedy.
Example: “Don’t you think spending $100,000 on a child’s birthday party is just a wee bit much?”
I’m with Shagnasty.
What you’re complaining about is an element of vernacular American English, although the phrase seems more British English to me…
It would perhaps be inappropriate in a doctor thesis, but more so due to its vulgar or informal nature than due to its redundancy.
I will admit, though, that the redundancy would bother me in an academic paper.
A wee bit. I like it! Mayhap I will include it in my so-welcomed spousal improvement plan.
I think what bothers me is that I don’t get the impression she is intending to indicate a tad-sized bit. Instead, I believe she would use “tad bit” interchangeably with “tad” or “bit.”
I swear, that woman’s trying to drive me crazy!
What’s wrong with a phrase being redundant, anyway?
Nothing, not a damn thing.
Nothing at all, according to the Department of Redundancy Department.
It’s not that it’s redundant so much as that “tad” isn’t an adjective:
“Mustard?”
“Just a tad, please.”
So it’s a noun, whereas “little miniature” and “wee bit” are both at least grammatically normal because “little” and “wee” are both adjectives. Not that I want to enter into a prescriptive grammar argument or anything, but this is definitely why “a tad bit” sounds completely wrong to a lot of people.
You realize, of course, the irony of your well-intentioned corrective efforts being the lone stain upon your own godlike mien. 
Are you suggesting that I ought to seek out additional improvement opportunities for the little lady, solely to avoid having a single blemish? That an intricate pattern of interwoven stains would be more consistent with my heavenly nature? I’m sure she would appreciate such an effort on my part, as continued prximity to my perfection MUST be tiring. Come to think of it, she has described me as tiresome!
(Of course, my confusion may be due to my Yankee inability to appreciate irony.)
Thanks DB. I appreciate that analysis.
But before I prescribe grammar and usage rules to the missus, I must reflect on a tiff we had some time ago - an isolated interruption in our 2 decades of wedded bliss - when my playful observation of what I perceived as a mispronunciation in a children’s song was resolved several hours and multiple thrown objects later, by reference to syllabic consonants. Thank goodness she has bad aim and a good reference library!
No - my kids have no chance and shouldn’t be forced to live in such a household. Please notify the appropriate authorities.
I just thought about this and reallized I had a similar problem with my wife when I first met her but in the opposite direction:
I grew up saying “in a little bit.” to describe when I was going to do something or when something was going to happen. My now wife just said “in a bit” and it brought me to a full halt the first few times she said it.
I plainly stated that my bit was just going to be little. She refused to commit to any sized bit and I found that disturbing.
Actually, I’ll suggest that you may be interested in the subject of [http://www.ic.arizona.edu/ic/mcbride/ws200/navtrad.htm]Navajo blankets.
Back on subject, the tad in “tad bit” is an intensifier, just as the little in “little bit” is. Intensifiers are one of the commonest usages in English, some of them so old that we no longer even think of the original as having been intensified. Indeed some have to be further intensified in order to convey the heightened meaning we wish from them.
A discussion of intensifiers can be found in the excellent The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind’s Greatest Invention, by Guy Deutscher.
“A small miniature” is redundant. All miniatures are small in comparison. The use of redundancies is considered poor style.