If "It Goes Without Saying," Then Why Are You Saying It?

We need to talk about the maddening habit of writing "it goes without saying," and then saying something.by Dave SegalThe grammar Nazis you love to hate.
Do you write or say "it goes without saying," "needless to say," and "not to mention," and then say or mention something immediately afterward? Yes? Then we need to talk about the concept of words and their meanings.People use this unholy triumvirate of phrases—which make my eyes simultaneously roll and glaze over—with maddening fre