in the same boat as, to be

in the same boat as, to be

To be in similar circumstances or in the same position. This expression, which alludes to the risks shared by all those present in a small boat at sea, dates from the time of the ancient Greeks and has been used figuratively for many centuries. It often is stated as all in the same boat, as it was by Artemus Ward (The Draft in Baldinsville, 1862): “We are all in the same boat.”See also: boat, same