All and sundry

This phrase dates from the 1300s and meant ‘one and all’, in the sense of both collectively and individually. The word ‘sundry’ derives from the Old English syndrig, meaning ‘separate, exceptional or special’. Thus, ‘all and sundry’ started off its life emphasising the importance of individuality as well as collectiveness. Over the years, however, the phrase has simply come to mean ‘everyone’ making the presence of the ‘sundry’ part largely superfluous. By 1815, the devaluation of the word ‘sundry’ was complete when the plural form, ‘sundries’, came to mean ‘small items or articles of a miscellaneous kind’.