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You are here: Home / Language / What is the Difference Between “Fills the Bill” and “Fits the Bill” and What Does the Phrase Mean?

What is the Difference Between “Fills the Bill” and “Fits the Bill” and What Does the Phrase Mean?

June 26, 2020 by Karen Hill

If something “fills” or “fits the bill,” it’s satisfying, whether it’s a good meal or a job well done.

The expressions come from the days when theatrical advertising was done through handbills or posters.

“Filling the bill” meant adding acts to pad a weak program.

But if a single star could pull in an audience through his or her individual fame and talent, their name was all that was needed so it was enlarged to fit the bill.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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