Dozens of Uses for "Dozen"

 

The 2003 remake of "Cheaper by the Dozen."

The word dozen came into English from Old French, that derived from the Latin duodecim, meaning “twelve.”

In English, dozen means “a group of twelve,” but several idioms have changed the number to thirteen, sometimes fourteen.

The plural dozens means "a large group," as in "Dozens of birds suddenly flew out of the tree."

Baker’s Dozen

The term baker’s dozen (a group of thirteen) goes back to at least the sixteenth century. The term likely refers to a former practice of bakers (and others), who would add a thirteenth loaf of bread or roll (or other product) to retailers who were buying a dozen. The idiom is sometimes used figuratively to mean “thirteen.”

→ Falcons' Younghoe Koo: Produces baker's dozen in TNF win

(CBSSports.com, Atlanta Falcons football kicker scores 13 points in Thursday Night Football.)

Other idioms meaning “thirteen” include long dozen, devil’s dozen, and printer’s dozen, this last because printers would give retailers thirteen book for orders of twelve. These three phrases are not seen often today.

By the Dozen

This idiom means a certain quantity or amount. Often used for discounts. Also: by the hundred, by the thousand. 

→ Our company buys printer cartridges by the dozen. They’re cheaper that way.

The 1950 comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen tells the story of a family with 12 children. That movie starred Clifton Webb, Jeanne Crain, and Myrna Loy. It follows the semi-autographical novel, published in 1948, by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey.

In 2003, Steve Martin starred in a remake of the film, using the same name, and two years later a sequel, Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Those films also featured Bonnie Hunt and Hilary Duff.

Daily Dozen

This was originally a series of twelve exercises to do daily, developed by the Yale University football coach Walter Camp (1859–1925). Today the term is used figuratively to man just “daily exercises.”

→ I walk two miles every day—that’s my daily dozen.

Dime a Dozen

This common idiom means “not valuable because there are so many.” The dime was made the American 10-cent coin in 1792. If you can buy twelve of something for 10 cents, then indeed it is not valuable.

→ Suggestions and ideas are a dime a dozen. What we need is action.

Six of One, (and) Half a Dozen of the Other

This idiom means that there is no difference between two choices. A dozen is a group of twelve, so half a dozen is six. Therefore the phrase is calling the two choices equal.

→ We can take either highway. Both will get us there in the same amount of time. It’s really six of one and half a dozen of the other.

Get more information about this idiom here.

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