- NOTE: See my other post about expresssions using AND by clicking here Expressions Using “And” – BB’s Words.
I usually see this expression during football season: “I focus each and every day.” “I try to improve each and every day.” “I want to get to know my new teammates and love each and every one of them.”
Why use both words? What’s wrong with just saying “each” OR “every”? The definitions of the words are very similar . . . in fact, both words appear as synonyms of each other. So . . . why use both?
👉 My personal conclusion – it’s because of the difference between written communication and spoken communication.
Those of you who communicate by speaking know that there is a big difference between reading written words and speaking those words. As someone who writes and speaks, I understand the difficulty with trying to communicate emotion in writing when not using vocal intonation. I am writing more about this issue in my “Persuasive Speaking” materials (hopefully, finished in 2026), but, for now, as practice –
Say the two words – each / every – by themselves. Then, say the two words together. There is a rhythm and a balance to saying both words out loud together, connected by “and”.
More “AND” expressions:
- “Ooh and Aah” – Why can’t we just “ooh” at something OR “aah” at something?
- Noooo . . . we have to say both. 😄
- “Hither and Yon” – (these two words are opposites)
- “Hither” is an old word meaning “here.” “Yon” is an abbreviation for “yonder,” a lovely sounding word meaning “over there.”
- “Hale and Hearty” – both mean “healthy.” I’m good with using both, following the balance idea, described above, plus . . . maybe using two words helps being as healthy as possible, yes? Considering that it’s the holiday season with a lot of eating, maybe it’s best to say both 😉☺️.
Send in more expressions using “AND”!
This and that. They refer to two different things on its own but I feel like it’s never actually about two distinct subjects.
Hello, Eric
I forgot about “this and that.” You’re right – the two words, used separately, refer to two different locations of nouns (“this flower” is near, but “that flower” is farther away). Unfortunately, I also agree that the use of both words, together, seems to indicate a group of something! As in, “What are you doing?” “Oh, just this and that.” A whole lot of something (or nothing).
Whew!
I actually think saying each and every has some reason beyond just vocal cadence. When we say each day, we think of each Monday, each Tuesday, etc. – the focus is on the unique opportunities of those specific 24-hour days.
To say every day puts the context in a more continuous fashion – it’s stringing the Mondays and Tuesdays together with the rest of the days, stringing those into weeks, weeks into months, and on (and on LOL).
So each (unique 24 hours) and every (continuing 24 hours), I will do ________!
That’s my take!
Hey, Ryan,
I like your take!
I agree that “each” definitely refers to a finite occurrence.
And yes, I see that “every” can refer to more than one occurrence.
SO, I think this particular confusion has been resolved 😊.
But I still like my vocal cadence reason for all of the examples 😉.