much of a muchness

IPA/mˈʌtʃ əvə mˈʌtʃnəs/
IPA/mˈʌtʃ əvə mˈʌtʃnəs/

much of a muchness — idiom

Idioms

much of a muchness

idiom

used to say that two or more people or things are so similar that there is very little real difference between them, and it is hard or unnecessary to choose one over the other

When Rafael looked at the two apartments, he decided they were much of a muchness.

Tuan tried three different internet providers, but their prices and speeds were much of a muchness.

Synonym discussion

Sense: idiom/1

"Much of a muchness" is a distinctly informal British expression that emphasises not just similarity but the practical irrelevance of the differences between two or more items. "Six of one, half a dozen of the other" is a more conversational alternative focused on two choices being equally good or bad. Plain "the same" or "alike" are neutral and far more common across registers, but they lack the dismissive, 'it does not matter which' tone that "much of a muchness" carries. For example, saying "the two phone plans are much of a muchness" implies you could flip a coin; saying "the two phone plans are the same" states a factual identity.

much of a muchness ↗six of one, half a dozen of the otherthe samealike ↗

Etymology

English

The noun 'muchness' dates back to the 1500s, where it meant 'greatness in quantity or degree'. The full phrase 'much of a muchness' first appeared in the early 1700s, notably in the writings of Jonathan Swift, and has since settled into an informal idiomatic expression meaning 'very similar, to the point where the difference hardly matters'.