To think the saying is "for all intent and purposes?"

[y0rkier0se]

DP and I can't decide whether the phrase should be "for all intent and purposes" or "for all intensive purposes". Google hasn't helped so calling on the collective wisdom of Mumsnet. It's driving us mad trying to rationalise the phrase and work out which is more logical so we neeeeed help!

[OneMillionScovilles]

For all intents & purposes.

[TamaraLamara]

It's "for all intents and purposes".

[OneMillionScovilles]

What even is an 'intensive purpose'?

[whatdoIget]

For all intents and purposes (whether intensive or not )

[ChutneyRhodrey]

For all intents and purposes.

"For all intensive purposes" drives me nuts. I am one of those arseholes who will actually correct people on that one

[Scarletforya]

Intents and purposes.

[y0rkier0se]

Good it makes sense in my head but trying to explain it is another matter. So say I said 'that's a chicken' and DP said 'no, it's a cockerel', for all intents and purposes it's a chicken? DP thought it meant when using something extremely for it's purpose!

[BackInTheRealWorld]

You are actually all wrong. It actually started out as 'for all in tents, and porpoises'.
It originated from a very popular seaside camping holiday song in the early 1900's.
It's fascinating how language develops over time isn't it.

[whatdoIget]

I'm surprised Google didn't help. I only had to type 'for all in' and it came up in the suggestions. Also my autocorrect on my phone came up with 'and' after I typed 'intents' and then suggested 'purposes'

[TamaraLamara]

Explanation of the basis of the idiom, OP:

The correct phrase is "for all intents and purposes." It originates from English law dating back to the 1500s, which used the phrase "to all intents, constructions, and purposes" to mean "officially" or "effectively."

[y0rkier0se]

Whatdolget it gave me different answers depending on what I typed in - 'intensive purposes' took me to a Wikipedia page explaining 'eggcorns' in language (?) which sounded like it was explaining what I was looking for, and 'intents and purposes' gave a suitable explanation too. I didn't think to see what autocorrect made of it though.

[whatdoIget]

Rely on autocorrect like I do and you never have to think for yourself again (luckily for me )

[RonniePickering]

I've just looked on Google and ' for all intensive purposes' is on the first page a few times, bizarrely.

[QueenJuggler]

Isn't it "to all intents and purposes", not "for all intents and purposes"?

It's derived from legal parlance.

[emotionsecho]

Back the song is a parody of the legal phrase 'to all intents and puposes' which has been in use for centuries.

[Twgtwf]

It's "to all in tents and porpoises". It means "aimed at nomadic people and fish".

[EBearhug]

But porpoises aren't fish...

[rosewithoutthorns]

It doesn't really mean anything though does it..

Its a wordy load of shite

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Queen - that's what I thought too.
Either would work, depending on context, I suppose.

[YouthHostellingWithChrisEubank]

Loving the tents and porpoises explanation!

And at "porpoises aren't fish!"

[Twgtwf]

Porpoises are, to all in tents and porpoises, fish.

[LilaTheTiger]

Is it not 'to all intents and purpose'?

[LilaTheTiger]

*purposes.

And I see TamaraLamara already said so

[ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight]

Do you know what an eggcorn is? To all intensive purposes is an example of one

[gleam]

I thought it was 'to all intents and purposes' too.