Trivial Linguistic Question of the Day

—By Kevin Drum

| Sat Jan. 14, 2012 5:36 PM PST

Take a look at the following three phrases:

  • Getting stamps by mail
  • Filling a box full of boxes
  • Taking a picture of a camera

Is there a description for this kind of thing? Is it even a definable category? Obviously it has something to do with subject and object being similar, and the words reflexive and recursive both come to mind. What would you call it?

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