It’s one thing to build up a robust vocabulary and to have a strong grasp of correct grammar. It’s another thing altogether to understand the subtle nuances of a language, particularly when it is localized to one area or another. And that’s why English idioms can be a really big challenge for people who aren’t actively living in a so-called “English” culture.
Even among those who are living in places like Vancouver or New York, many of these idiomatic phrases and sayings can leave you scratching your head. One phrase that I use not infrequently is “six of one, half a dozen of the other.” There are slight variations on this saying, like “six of one, half dozen of the other” or “six of one, a half dozen of the other,” but they all hold fundamentally the same meaning.
It Doesn’t Matter
If you hear someone say this (it is very rarely written in my experience), they are typically comparing two possible objects or ideas. For example, someone might ask if it is faster to get downtown via Hastings Street or via First Avenue and the other person may say, “Six of one, half a dozen of the other.” This is essentially saying that there is a negligible difference between the two possible routes and it really doesn’t matter which one you pick.
This kind of phrasing can also be used somewhat more facetiously. In the context of politics and a voter choosing between two candidates, the cynic might say, “It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other. They’re both crooks and neither of them has your best interest at heart.” Again, this means that you’re going to end up with much the same result no matter which candidate you choose. They may be different, in the strictest sense, but your choice doesn’t really matter. This is because a half dozen of something is six of that something. They are equal and equivalent.
Meh, Same Difference
A related idiom is “same difference.” This has the same meaning as “six of one, half a dozen of the other.” I find myself saying this fairly often too. I can’t say whether or not this phrasing is just as common in other parts of Canada, in the United States, or in other parts of the English-speaking world though. There are many Aussie-isms that aren’t all common in Canada, so I imagine the reverse is equally true.
Are there other English idioms that you find strange or that you don’t fully understand? Many of them are direct references to works or stories deemed to be a part of common knowledge. “If the shoe fits,” for example, is drawn from the story of Cinderella. Do you have a favorite idiom or saying?
My favorite idiom is “One swallow doesn’t a summer make”
What would you call the phrase “It’s Raining Cats and Dogs”?
You know, I still don’t understand how that saying makes any sense at all.
I have never seen the relationship in it pouring and that phrase. Was hoping someone did.
My guess is that cats and dogs are very heavy compared to water, so were it raining cats and dogs it would be like very heavy rain.
Not that it really makes any sense, though.
Oh, I do not have a favorite idiom, but I must admit that I don’t know many of them.
I used “It Doesn’t Matter” but I never heard about your discussed idioms.
I like your Grammar 101 articles, they helps my poor english!
As an Australian who’s lived a lot of my life in International Schools, I can say I’ve never heard of “six of one, half a dozen of the other” before, so it’s probably not used by Australians, and likely not British either.
Same difference is one I used to use quite a lot, though.
I quite like the saying “same same, but different”, though it has slightly different connotations to the aforementioned idioms.
It’s a long idiom to use for “there’s negligible differences”.
How about caught between 2 stools?
I’ve never heard that one. “Between a rock and a hard place” is more common; is that the same meaning?
It’s the same meaning i believe, negligible differences.
I enjoy you writing about mistakes people make when writing, like “Repeat Again?”, that annoys me a lot. haha.