Altogether Different

As I was writing for my other blog today I used "all together" in a sentence and wondered if I should have used "alltogether" instead or if I was making up a new word. I entered the word into my favorite online dictionary and learned that although I had spelled it incorrectly, "altogether" is in fact a word and it does not mean the same thing as "all together". If you too were in the dark, let me enlighten you:

al·to·geth·er

adv.

1. Entirely; completely; utterly: lost the TV picture altogether; an altogether new approach.

2. With all included or counted; all told: There were altogether 20 people at the dinner.

3. On the whole; with everything considered: Altogether, I'm sorry it happened.

n.

A state of nudity. Often used with the: in the altogether.

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[Middle English al togeder : al, all; see all + togeder, together; see together.]

Usage Note: Altogether and all together do not mean the same thing. We use all together to indicate that the members of a group perform or undergo an action collectively: The nations stood all together. The prisoners were herded all together. All together is used only in sentences that can be rephrased so that all and together may be separated by other words: The books lay all together in a heap. All the books lay together in a heap.

How cool is that? I feel smarter already, don't you?