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Why do people say "each and every"? It seems to me that both "each" and "every" indicate that all individuals within a certain group qualify for or are eligible for whatever is being discussed. Use of both words sounds a combination of redundant and condescending. If I am told that "each child will receive a lollipop" or that "every child will receive a lollipop", I am actually being told the same thing twice. Am I missing something here?
It is used for emphasis. When spoken out loud, the speaker will often stress the first vowels in both words.
If you said "Every child will get a lollipop," I might just leave the bag of lollipops by the door, letting the kids pick them up themselves, and some kids will get more than one and some might not see them and miss out. But, if you said "EAch and EVery child will get a lollipop!" then I will know I have to individually distribute the candy, perhaps keeping a list to make sure that no one is missed.
I completely agree with McMike that its proper and best use is one of emphasis, in situations where one might say absolutely every. In that sense, it is not a redundancy. It functions like freezing cold, boiling hot, bright shiny (bright shining), and many others.
But I further agree with you that in many, even most, of its uses, it is simply a careless phrase, perhaps used unthinkingly as filler words while a person chooses words to come. In these situations I do not hold out much hope for the words to come.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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