The same point, exactly.

The exact same…  You know you have heard this used, probably many times.  The odds are good that you have probably used this phrasing yourself a time or two.  And, as most of us probably remember from years of angry English teachers berating us, the use of that phrase is wrong.  Today, in two separate incidents, I heard it used in college related materials.  The first was on the radio- an advertisement for Arizona State University.  Apparently their online classes offer the exact same curriculum and benefits as their on campus experience.  The second was in this article, where a representative of Bard college notes that criminals that attend their school are held to the exact same standards…

Irony tastes sweet in the morning.

To be honest, however, I am fairly certain that exact same has firmly entrenched itself into colloquial English.  We all know what is meant, and many of us will continue to use it as a matter of habit.  Still, there is a part of me that is haunted by the ghosts of English teachers past.

By Dan Granot

I chose the Shorter Whitman because of his work, "Song of Myself" and because of my self-deprecating sense of humor. I am under no illusion that I can write successful essays or poetry, but I have been known to write them anyway.

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