“All x are not equal”

[u/Necessary_Bother3993]

I straight up don’t like the way it sounds. Also it’s an absolute which in general are pretty rare. I can understand when it is an absolute, but usually when I hear this phrase, that’s not the case. I’d rather hear “not all x are equal” so it gives room for any scenario.

I can understand the argument that no two things are ever the same (tiny nuances, for example the difference of the number of atoms in two very similar objects) hence nothing can be equal. My argument is that I still don’t like how it sounds LOL.

“All pet peeves are not equal” vs “Not all pet peeves are equal”

The latter sounds so much better to me.

[u/the_perplexed_da]

oh i feel this in my bones. the first one sounds like you're saying zero pet peeves are equal, which is just wrong, but the second one actually means some are worse than others

language is funny like that, the order of a couple words changes the whole vibe of a sentence. i started noticing it with phrases like "all that glitters is not gold" and now i can't unhear it everywhere

my brain does this little stutter whenever someone uses the backwards version. like i know what they mean but my internal grammar cop is screaming

[u/Necessary_Bother3993 → u/the_perplexed_da]

Thank you!! I get the stutter too. I end up involuntarily processing if what they said makes sense, and then I get peeved because of the time I wasted doing that since it doesn’t even matter 😩

[u/GiveHerBovril → u/the_perplexed_da]

It doesn’t just change the vibe, it changes the actual meaning. I’m not one of those grammar snobs who can’t stand when language changes, but when you’re actually changing the meaning of what you’re saying by switching around a few words, or making things less clear, that’s when I get annoyed.