boutsady  +  566564 Tue, 16 Sep 08 06:41 AM Overall attendance dipped at the New York State Fair in 2008, but paid attendance was up. Overall means All in this sentence? Thanks what are different between Overall and All? boutsady Joined on Tue, Jul 8 2008 New Member 34 STUDY, STUDY

	Avangi  +  566565 Tue, 16 Sep 08 06:55 AM Hi, Technically, there's no difference.  But in contexts like this where different categories of a thing are mentioned (eg. "paid attendance"), "overall" is used to make it clear that all the categories are lumped together in this particular count. I don't believe you'd use "overall" in a discussion where a breakdown into categories was not mentioned. Best wishes,  - A. Avangi Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007 Veteran Member 8,172 ". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier

	Avangi  +  566579 Tue, 16 Sep 08 07:54 AM boutsady “ " overall workers go on strike" ” That could be a newspaper headline about an "overall" factory, but I know that's not what you mean. I don't think it would be used, because union contracts and negotiations have their own language, and I don't think this would fit. Are you thinking of a situation in a particular company, or factory, in which different skills are represented by different unions   -   that is, electrical workers, clerical workers, pipe fitters, machinists, etc.?  Companies often try to have the contracts of the various unions expire at different times so they can't all gang up. Perhaps if it were a "wildcat" strike (mid-contract) over some hot issue and all the unions decided to go out in sympathy, your expression could be used.  But I think they'd more likely call it a general strike. Of course that expression is also used when all the workers in an entire country go on strike. It's surely not a common expression, like "overall income."    - A. Avangi