play emily brewster and one and the same text graphic

'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

Is it all the same anyway?


Is it 'one in the same' or 'one and the same'? Senior Editor Emily Brewster explains.

Transcript

Sometimes a word that sounds like the right word and feels like the right word isn't actually the right word, it's an eggcorn. The acrobat and the farmer who are the same person aren't "one in the same," they're "one and the same." You don't have to choose between being an acrobat and a farmer. You can be one and the same.

Up next

play emily brewster and one and the same text graphic
'One in the same' or 'One and the same'?

 

Is it all the same anyway?

play ismo merriam webster one
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

 

Comedian ISMO tries to figure out 'one' and 'two'

play video hopefully
Hopefully

 

We believe the popular usage of this word is correct

play peter-sokolowski-indict-graphic
Video: Why Is There a 'C' in 'Indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

play illustrated notebook that says everyday vs every day
'Everyday' vs. 'Every Day'

 

A simple trick to keep them separate

play fun funner funnest
Fun, Funner, Funnest

 

Why does it sound strange to say 'funner' or 'funnest?'

play video soup vs soop
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

 

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut