Jose Carillo's English Forum

Joe Carillo's Desk => You Asked Me This Question => Topic started by: royljc on January 22, 2011, 10:58:00 AM

Title: all over town vs. all over the town
Post by: royljc on January 22, 2011, 10:58:00 AM

Hi, Joe,

I'm having problem defining these two phrases. Are they the same or different?

Thanks for your help.

Title: Re: all over town vs. all over the town
Post by: Joe Carillo on January 23, 2011, 07:52:20 PM

The phrases “all over town” and “all over the town” mean different things.

“All over town” can literally mean “in many places in town,” as in “The building inspections were done all over town,” or figuratively mean “known to many” or “widely known,” as in “The nasty gossip aired on TV about the philandering high official was all over town before the day was over.” In both cases, “all over town” signifies presence in many places in town but not everywhere in it.

On the other hand, “all over the town” literally means physically everywhere in the town without exception, as in “Snow fell all over the town throughout the night, blanketing everything in sight with eight inches of dirty-white precipitate.”