TadOverdon
Pornographer
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Porn palindrome: "Aieeeia!"
Everyone vs. everybody
- Thread starter mynameisben
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mynameisben
Half man, half-wit
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SimonDoom
Kink Lord
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I'm familiar with Herman's Hermits, but this reference is lost on me.
Ben
Peter Noone was the lead singer of Herman's Hermits and something of a young pop idol around the time of the British Invasion in the 60s.
That was before my time, but I knew about them from listening to classic rock radio stations about 15 years later.
Years after that I saw Noone perform the lead role on Broadway in Pirates of Penzance, and I was surprised at how good he was. I always thought of him as having a sweet, gentle voice but it was more powerful than I expected.
Agiel
Really Experienced
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As long as the reader understands
“Everybody looks the same to me,” is okay for an autopsy whereas “everyone looks the same to me,” is better for a lineup. Okay, I know that’s not the correct way to do it but the important thing is that the reader understands what you are trying to say.
To me it’s far more important to get the words in the sentence in the right order for the reader to understand what you are trying to say without them having to read the sentence again to understand the meaning. That also applies to books by mainstream authors who have editors who are paid to make sure everything reads correctly, unlike those volunteer editors on here who generously donate their time for free.
“Everybody looks the same to me,” is okay for an autopsy whereas “everyone looks the same to me,” is better for a lineup. Okay, I know that’s not the correct way to do it but the important thing is that the reader understands what you are trying to say.
To me it’s far more important to get the words in the sentence in the right order for the reader to understand what you are trying to say without them having to read the sentence again to understand the meaning. That also applies to books by mainstream authors who have editors who are paid to make sure everything reads correctly, unlike those volunteer editors on here who generously donate their time for free.
Handley_Page
Draco interdum Vincit
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I got the impression that "Everyone" is an inclusive reference to all members of a particular group; All the fellow members of a club or similar, for example),.
On the other hand "Everybody" is a much wider term.
On the other hand "Everybody" is a much wider term.
SimonDoom
Kink Lord
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Neither does
Everyone's Working For The Weekend.
Everyone Wants To Rule The World.
Everyone needs someone to lean on.
"Everybody" seems to be an essential 1980s word.
But Ingrid Michaelson weighs in with "Everybody" (which fits the meter better, right?)
Seeing as how you and Ogg are both Brits, I'm wondering if it's a distinction that's made in the UK but not in the US. Another example of how we're not speaking exactly the same language.
mynameisben
Half man, half-wit
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Tiny Tim never said, "God bless us, everybody."
Of course, I am cheating. Tiny Tim didn't say, "God bless us, everyone" either.
Dickens' EXACT words were:
But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself. It's freely available on the internet, and it's a great piece of literature.
Ben
Of course, I am cheating. Tiny Tim didn't say, "God bless us, everyone" either.
Dickens' EXACT words were:
And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!
But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself. It's freely available on the internet, and it's a great piece of literature.
Ben
But that proves my point. "God bless Us, Every One" fits the meter better, because it puts the emphasis on the last syllable. Even when Dickens wasn't writing poetry, he still appreciated the proper use of meter.
Athalia
Literotica Guru
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You may be right. I went to high school in the US, then went to college in the UK, and I think that's one of the things that branded me as an American. Not as extreme as "fanny" or "knickers," but there is a distinction. It's sort of how the phrases 'Pardon me" and "Excuse me" are fairly interchangeable in American parlance, like when you bump into somebody in a crowd, but "Excuse me" has a more dismissive connotation in British speech, whereas "Pardon me" is more apologetic. (Think of Steve Martin's "Excuuuuuuse me!")
water_moutina
Literotica Guru
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I use "everyone" when I want to use in a context when I want to address each person in the group as individual. When I want to address the group as a whole rather than each person, I use "everybody"
Bramblethorn
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I agree that "everybody" is a smidgin less formal than "everyone", but where are song lyrics are concerned, choices between the two are probably driven far more by differences in syllable counts than by any difference in meaning and connotations. Changing lyrics in the other direction breaks things just as badly:
Born a poor young country boy, Mother Nature's son
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everybody
Everybody's a hero in their own way
Everybody's got villains they must face
They're not as cool as mine
But folks, you know it's fine to know your place
SimonDoom
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Agreed. Bramblethorn made a similar point. In music, poetry, and fiction the rhythm and sound matter. There are a gazillion examples of songs, in which "everybody" is the right choice in some but "everyone" is the right choice in another. Consider two songs from the Beatles' White Album:
Mother Nature's Son:
Born a poor young country boy, mother nature's son
All day long I'm sitting singing songs for everyone
OR
Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey
In these cases the right choice is all about rhythm and rhyme.
Does it mean anything that one is a song by Paul and the other a song by John?
