Eggcorn Forum

This seemingly nonsensical tack-on has come to mean “not even a little bit,” but in reality has evolved from incorrect inferences regarding the Latin “et al,” meaning “and others.” Nowadays, “et al” is usually limited to formal communication such as a letter addressed to “Chairman Brown, et al”—which signifies that the writer is addressing, not only Chairman Brown, but also all others involved in the issue at hand. Thus, in the past, when someone used this term in conversation, such as, “I don’t like him, et al,” what was meant by this is that the speaker disliked, not only the person in question, but also everyone associated with him in the context at hand. However, those unfamiliar with the term tended to misunderstand it to be “at all” and to somehow mean “not a bit,” judging from the speaker’s tone.