10 or 19 to the dozen?

[janidewberry]

which is right? 10 to the dozen or nineteen to the dozen?

[Tinker,Wales]

The expression for overdoing it, or going too fast, is 19 to the dozen. A dozen being only 12.

[Mamyalynne]

I have heard both i suppose its six of one and half a dozen of the other LOL

[Bathsheba]

That always bugs me when people say 10 to the dozen! It's defintitely 19! Doesn't make sense the other way.

[Quizmonster]

The phrase 'nineteen to the dozen' has been in use since the late 18th century...the 'ten' version is just a meaningless bit of modern laziness. One suggestion, made in a book about English idioms in the 1950s, was that 'nineteen' was chosen as it had a more striking effect than the more obvious number, 'twenty'.

[Quizmonster]

Click here for more historical background to the phrase.

[JonnyBoy12]

Nineteen to the dozen, definitely!

[janidewberry]

Thanks! I also knew 19 to the dozen, but very commonly said incorrectly.

[Mxw3]

Both are correct, but incorrectly used interchangeably.

10 to the dozen means "very many" (i.e. "a lot of things") e.g. "babies are ugly ten to the dozen", meaning a lot of babies are ugly (but not mine).

19 to the dozen means "very fast" (i.e. "a lot of speed") e.g. "my heart was beating 19 to the dozen", meaning my heart was beating a lot.

The confusion comes about when a lot (of speed) gets mixed up with a lot (of things), resulting in the wrong phrase being uttered: "my heart was beating 10 to the dozen" (i.e. a heart attack).

[differ1]

The expression is nineteen to the dozen meaning going fast. Ten to the doxzen would mean the opposite - going slow. Do people not know that a dozen means 12! People are also mixing this expreression up with ten a penny which means plentiful and common.