Each and Every

Some of the things we say...funny! "Each and every," for instance, is a redundant statement. I have always overlooked what I thought was a silly phrase, by assuming that, for it to become as popular as it has, it must be valid and that I was just missing something. I even analyzed the two words and thought that maybe each felt more individual and every referred to the whole group. If this is a saying you employ, I apologize...maybe I'm not being cordial, benign, or forbearing. But, the facts are these*... in a thesaurus, you'll find the one as a synonym for the other so really, they don't need to be said together. I'd like to refer you to my first degree; English. Though it will not provide me with the career I will someday have teaching fourth graders or wealth or fame, it has made me, if not an expert, at least a keen observer of the English language. Much like in politics, where we put down that which we don't completely understand, I concede that I error in the use of language as well. But, it sure is fun to play with and wonder about and analyze.
*"The facts are these," is a nod to one of my two favorite TV shows, Pushing Daisies (the other being The Office.) The narrator begins to explain a new fact to the story by beginning with that phrase.