Resources
Replete
More Than Complete
By Evan Jenkins
Replete with,” a phrase that seems to go through cycles of popularity in journalism, is often used incorrectly to mean just “having” or “equipped with.”
In fact, it means an abundance or a surfeit. A 10-acre estate with one swimming pool is pretty standard stuff; the estate is complete with pool. The same spread with eight pools would be replete with them.
The writer who told of “a ludicrous erotic ‘Slap That Bass,’ replete with tacky bumps and grinds” got it right. But a weakness for fancy-sounding words seemed to be at work in a basketball team that was "the darlings of the Sweet 16 a year ago, replete with colorful coach and mid-major charm;" and a "toolbox, replete with hammer, tape measure and plane level."
CJR
