I’m wondering if the word ‘rate’ in this term is redundant. I thought speed was already a rate, being km PER hour. No one would ever say “Those apples sure go for a high rate of price”. I think its mostly used by cops as part of their copspeak so they can sound smrt. Anyone?
I agree. It is totally superfluous.
Redundancy is not always bad, IMO. The phrase may be mostly used by cops as part of their copspeak so they can sound unambiguous–especially over interferency radios with crappy speakers.
If you google “at a high rate of speed” you can find many, many non-cop uses of the phrase. I also found ten examples of “priced at a high rate”. I agree that it is redundant in a manner.