Winner takes all/winner takes it all

Hello! I just want to ask if this is correct.


The winner takes it all.

I once heard it from a friend when I was a kid while we were playing a board game. I never googled the phrase until now, and found out that the original one is "winner takes all" so, my question is: is it OK to add the word "it"? If so, is there a difference between the winner takes all and the winner takes it all? Thanks in advance!

It's a set phrase without "it" (even "the" is dropped") commonly used for "rule of the game", though it's not wrong with "it".

@Yb167, you posted the same thread here.

Please do not post the same question simultaneously to more than one forum. Doing so wastes our valuable time. Instead, post your question to one forum and wait for replies. If you're not satisfied with those replies, you can try another forum, but please indicate in your thread that you've already asked the same question elsewhere (provide a link), and outline why you were not satisfied with the answers you received already.

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(teechar)

tedmc said:

It's a set phrase without "it" (even "the" is dropped") commonly used for "rule of the game", though it's not wrong with "it".

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Exactly. My impression is that the 'it' was seldom if ever heard, until the Abba song - in which the 'it' is necessary for the rhythm. That song influenced the language, so that now I often hear the 'it' (chiefly in the speech of non-native speakers).

The phrase used for rules of a game is 'winner takes all'. The name of the ABBA song is The Winner Takes It All.

Don't mix them up.