Many grammarians have condemned the expression consensus of opinion as redundant since a consensus itself entails a judgment about which there is general agreement. But many reputable writers have used consensus of opinion, and some have defended it on the grounds that a consensus may involve attitudes other than opinions; thus, there may be a consensus of beliefs or a consensus of usage. Nonetheless, the qualifying of phrase can usually be omitted with no loss of clarity. The sentence It was the consensus of opinion among the sportswriters that the game should not have been played says nothing that is not said by It was the consensus of the sportswriters that the game should not have been played.
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Expressions such as overall consensus and general consensus are harder to defend against the charge of redundancy. Ninety-five percent of the Usage Panel considers overall consensus to be objectionably redundant.
