Meanings
- artsEmphasize excessively and nothing will stand out.
The temptation is constantly to tresspass upon the domain of Elocution, and indicate beforehand all particular emphasis; moreover, to emphasize everything is to emphasize nothing.
1886, John Scott Clark, chapter V, in A Practical Rhetoric for Instruction in English Composition and Revision in College and Intermediate Schools, New York: Henry Holt and Company, page 27
Origin
Perhaps coined by American liberal arts professor John Scott Clark (see quote 1886) but more likely to be traditional. Used with many variations.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
to emphasize everything is to emphasize nothing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20emphasize%20everything%20is%20to%20emphasize%20nothing
“to emphasize everything is to emphasize nothing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20emphasize%20everything%20is%20to%20emphasize%20nothing. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “to emphasize everything is to emphasize nothing,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/to%20emphasize%20everything%20is%20to%20emphasize%20nothing.
Source: to emphasize everything is to emphasize nothing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.