Free gratis

[albaqwerty]

as well as 'the wee small hours'

Gratis = free, so why the 'free gratis' ?
Wee = small so as above really.

No doubt this has been asked and answered and I've missed it.

Is it just to make the language sound kinder to the ear?

[heathfield]

The full phrase is 'free, gratis, and for nothing'. This makes use of the 'Rule of Three' in rhetoric, where something is said three times in one form or another. This adds emphasis, and has been found historically to be better remembered by those who hear it. 'Wee small hours of the morning' has similar intent.
Rule of Three...

http://www.wordnerds....ective-speechwriting/

[albaqwerty]

Makes sense now. Many thanks Heathfield.

[jno]

they're just 'intensifiers', so yes, it's because they sound nice. You wouldn't use them in formal speech or writing.

[boxtops]

I think the Wee small hours has come into usage since the Frank Sinatra song of the same name, in the 1950s.

[heathfield]

On the contrary, Jno. You'll hear examples of the 'Rule of Three' almost every day from our politicians!

[wildwood]

Is an 'itty bitty tiny' thing, one of those three rule things?

[Quizmonster]

The earliest recorded use of the phrase, "the wee sma' hours" was in Charlotte Bronte's 'Shirley', published in 1849. Just as a matter of interest, this predates Sinatra' s birth, never mind his song, by 66 years, Boxy!