“To each his own” is an idiom meaning everyone is entitled to their own preferences. It is often used when disagreeing with someone’s choice but not worth arguing. The phrase may have originated from a Latin phrase and is criticized for its improper use of the pronoun “they”. Variations of the saying include “whatever floats your boat” and “taste is not taken into account”. An advertising campaign by Honda in 2011 further popularized the idiom.
“To each his own” is an English idiom which means that everyone is entitled to their own preferences. The sentence is grammatically incorrect because the singular pronoun ‘each’ conflicts with the plural pronoun ‘they’, so many people use the ‘to each his own’ version. Variations on the saying are heard mostly in the United States, England and Australia, but may have originated from a Latin phrase.
This idiom is commonly used when the speaker disagrees with another person’s choice, but doesn’t think the point is worth arguing. For example, someone might say, “I hate that TV show, but he watches every single episode. To each his own!” In other words, the speaker thinks another person’s opinion is ridiculous, weird, or just plain wrong, but acknowledges that the other person is entitled to their opinion.
Some linguists think that the idiom derives from the Latin phrase “suum cuique pulchrum est”, which means “to each, his is beautiful”. In other words, each person thinks his things and his opinions are beautiful and right. A simple example is that every mother thinks her baby is the most beautiful baby ever born. Others may disagree, but every mother insists hers is her best.
This is one of many sentences criticized for the improper use of the pronoun “they”. Grammatically, “to each his own” is incorrect, because “each” is singular, while “they” is plural. Because English lacks a personal pronoun that is both singular and gender-neutral, many speakers use the gender-neutral plural pronoun “they” instead of the more voluminous phrase “his of hers.”
In some areas the saying “to each his own” is more common. A similar statement is “taste is not taken into account” and the idiom “whatever floats your boat” and its many adaptations also have the same meaning. All these sayings are used to mean that everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if the speaker disagrees.
An advertising campaign titled “To each their own”, further popularized the idiom when it was launched in the spring of 2011 by the American Honda Motor Company, Inc. The slogan was intended to emphasize that the company has many different options , so each person can find a car that he likes. While the advertisements were generally well received, some reviewers criticized them for their incorrect grammar.
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