The more the merrier

A family portrait with everyone wearing surgical masks.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we all received a vaccination for Christmas?
(Photo: Jonathan Borba/Pexels | Text: David/ArtisanEnglish.jp)

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Phrase: The more, the merrier

Today we have an expression that is especially common around the Holidays, but its use is not limited to December.

I suppose it’s more commonly used around this time of year because the word merry is so closely associated with Christmas.

We say Merry Christmas to everyone we meet as the day becomes progressively closer.

Anytime a large group of people is welcome, such as at parties, ice skating events, or even carolling, you may hear others being invited to join with the excuse of the more, the merrier.

It means the more people there are, the better a particular situation will be.


The phrase, the more, the merrier, is used when we invite someone to enjoy something, such as a party where the more people, the better it is.


When it comes to Christmas and New Year’s parties, yes, in a typical year, under normal circumstances, the more, the merrier is an appropriate thing to say.

This Christmas, the more, the merrier is quite taboo.

With a raging pandemic and infections increasing almost daily, the more people there are, the higher the chances are that you’ll contract the virus.

The more people there may be at your party this year, the fewer there will be next year because they died of COVID-19.

Of course, we all like presents, but the coronavirus is one present we all could do without.

Now, if you are looking for investors to pour money into your new startup or your party is going to be held on Zoom, well, that’s an entirely different story – the more, the merrier, as they say.


Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test

This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 – 14).

On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 63.

The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.



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