On average/On the whole/As a whole

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Angliholic  #486565  Sun, 09 Mar 08 09:21 AM

On average/On the whole/As a whole, the restaurant sells 150 hamburgers each day.

 

Hi,

Do all of the phrases in bold fit in the above and mean about the same to you? Thanks. 

 

  
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Marius Hancu  #486568  Sun, 09 Mar 08 09:27 AM
They don't mean the same.

On the whole: has as one of its meanings "typically," but "typically" isn't "average," even though close. However, "on the whole" has other meanings which are predominant (look in a dictionary), and as a result I would not use it here. 

As a whole: simply wrong.  

  
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