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Is it OK to say "consensus of opinion"?

(Indumathi, Hyderabad)

We hear the expression all the time, don't we? The consensus of opinion is this is the best movie in town. The consensus of opinion is that the law should be passed without any changes. We find such sentences in newspapers all the time. So, if you object to them, then you are likely to be in the minority. Careful users of the language however object to this expression. They argue that "consensus" means general agreement, therefore there is no need to add "of opinion". You can simply say, "The consensus is this is the best movie in town".

S. Upendran

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