In the same boat

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Meaning

Sharing a common plight or fate, stuck together.

Origin

From 16th-century England, tied to seafaring; literal boats held crews in shared peril, as in a 1584 text where 'we be all in one boat' meant joint risk. By 1800s slang, it broadened beyond ships, as in an 1820s diary of broke friends 'in the same boat.

Variants

  • Same boat

Usage Examples

  • We're in the same boat; stuck with this deadline.
  • They're in the same boat, broke after the trip.
  • In the same boat, we faced the layoffs together.

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