six of one, half a dozen of the other
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The alternatives are the same: “I can take the bus or the subway to get home; during rush hour, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.” The phrase, which is sometimes inverted as “half a dozen of one, six of the other,” is merely two ways of expressing the number six.
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
Words nearby six of one, half a dozen of the other
six-gun, sixmo, Six Nations, Six Nations Championship, six o'clock swill, six of one, half a dozen of the other, six-pack, sixpence, sixpenny, six-pointer, six-shooter
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with six of one, half a dozen of the other
six of one, half a dozen of the other
The two alternatives are the same, as in Either Route 2 or Long Avenue will get you there—it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. This term simply equates two different ways of saying “six.” [First half of 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.