same difference
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Blend of same (thing) + (no) difference, which incidentally continues to make logical sense.
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
[edit]- (idiomatic) A distinction which makes no difference; a distinction which does not matter.
- Synonym: distinction without a difference
- 2011, Constance Briscoe, The Accused, →ISBN, page 274:
- "When you say she was a tart, do you mean a whore?"
"It's the same difference," Betty said.
Usage notes
[edit]- Often used in a grammatically incomplete form, as a pro-sentence, meaning "That is a distinction which makes no significant difference." For example:
- 2000 July 31, Lev Grossman, “Report From MacWorld Expo”, in Time:
- Apple as a company has been as much about design as about technology. Is it in danger of putting form ahead of function? Same difference, says Jobs.