play illustration of a man watching a washing machine overflow
Commonly Confused

'All over sudden' vs. 'All of a sudden'

We'll help you figure it out at once


Is the correct phrase 'all over sudden' or 'all of a sudden'? Senior Editor Emily Brewster explains.

Transcript

Sometimes a word that sounds like the right word and feels like the right word isn't actually the right word. It's an eggcorn. Something that happens sooner than expected doesn't happen "all over sudden," it happens "all of a sudden." Sudden here is an obsolete noun meaning an unexpected occurrence.

Up next

play alright allright video
Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

play video between you and i or me
I vs. Me

 

'Between you and __'? Simple guidance for a tricky pronoun.

play video websters video of 1864
Webster's Dictionary of 1864

 

The landmark edition that transformed the way dictionaries are made.

play merriam-webster eggcorns title page
What Is an Eggcorn?

 

And how did it get that name?

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer