Short answer: "a whole nother" means "a completely different," as in "that's a whole nother problem." It is informal, labeled chiefly American, and perfectly normal in speech. "Nother" is a real word with a long history, but in modern standard English it survives almost only in this phrase. Wiktionary labels "a whole nother" as US, informal and "proscribed," meaning usage guides tell you to avoid it in writing. So: say it freely, and in formal writing use "a whole other," "an entirely different" or "a completely separate" instead.
A whole nother at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What it means | A completely different, an entirely separate |
| Is "nother" a word? | Yes, historically; today it is nonstandard outside this phrase and a few dialects |
| Register | Casual, conversational, often humorous |
| Region | Labeled US by Wiktionary, though heard elsewhere |
| Fine in speech? | Yes |
| Fine in formal writing? | Usually not; use "a whole other" or rephrase |
| Apostrophe ("a whole 'nother")? | Seen in older print; Grammarist advises against it |
Two explanations for "nother," and the references give both
Most explanations online pick one story. The references do not settle it, and Wiktionary's entry for "a whole nother" (read September 25, 2026) sets out both possibilities side by side.
Explanation 1: tmesis. "Another" is a single word. Say "a whole nother" and you have split it into "a" and "nother" and pushed "whole" into the gap. That splitting has a name: tmesis. The Grammarphobia Blog, in a post on the device, says the term "ultimately comes from the Greek verb temnein (to cut)," that it had been a poetic device since classical times, and that it "didn't show up in English until the 16th century," with the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example dated 1592. Grammarphobia lists "a whole nother" alongside "abso-damn-lutely" as a modern example used for emphasis or humor.
Explanation 2: rebracketing. The other story is that "nother" was already a word before anyone said "whole" in front of it. "An other" was heard as "a nother," so the "n" moved from the article to the noun. Wiktionary compares Middle English a noþer and the dialect word "tother," from Middle English þe toþer, "the other," where the "t" of "the" slid onto the next word in the same way.
Both can be true at once. Rebracketing explains why "nother" existed as a word to begin with. Tmesis explains why "a whole nother" feels like a playful break in "another" to speakers today.
Yes, "nother" is a word, and an old one
This is the part most short answers skip. "Nother" is not a modern invention squeezed out of "another."
According to Grammarist's usage page on "a whole nother" (read September 25, 2026), "nother" has "been in use since the 13th century" as a misdivision of "another," and it turns up in older compounds such as "nother-gates" in the 14th century. Wiktionary's entry for "nother" records an obsolete pronoun sense, "another," and a current adjective sense, "different, other," which it marks as chiefly US and informal.
There is a wrinkle worth knowing. Wiktionary also lists a completely separate "nother," from Old English nōhwæþer, meaning "neither," now obsolete outside some UK and Caribbean dialects. Grammarist traces its "nother" to Old English "noðer." The two references do not describe the history in the same way, so if you see a confident one-line etymology elsewhere, treat it with care. What is clear is that the "other" sense of "nother" has centuries of use.
One more piece of evidence that "nother" worked as a word on its own: Rebecca Ericson-Hua, writing about the phrase in her newsletter Everybody Talks, quotes an 1835 line attributed to Davy Crockett, "I'll now answer one nother question," with no "whole" in sight.
How old is "a whole nother"?
Older than most people guess. Wiktionary's earliest quotation is from 1887: Mary Louisa Molesworth, in "The Mysterious Guide: A Story of a London Fog," published in The Girl's Own Paper: "I don't know what we shall do if we have to be a whole 'nother day in the house and in the dark."
Note the apostrophe. The writer treated "nother" as a clipped "another," which fits the tmesis reading.
The dates do not quite line up across sources. Ericson-Hua reports the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example as 1890, quoting what appears to be the same sentence, and says the OED's record shows the apostrophe dropped by 1963. We have not seen the OED entry directly, and none of the references we read explains the three-year gap. So the fair summary is: the phrase is on record by the late 1880s, and the exact first date depends on which reference you trust.
Where the phrase spread after that, and how it came to be labeled American, is a question the references we read do not answer in detail. "Unknown" is the honest answer there.
Why "a whole nother" sounds so natural
Plenty of phrases are informal. This one is unusually hard to resist, and there are good reasons for that.
- Familiar sound. "A whole nother" keeps the sound of "another" intact, just stretched. "A whole other" changes the sound of the word the listener expects.
- Emphasis. Putting "whole" inside the word, rather than before it, makes it land harder. That is the point of tmesis, and why people also say "abso-flipping-lutely."
- Precedent. "Nother" already existed. Speakers are not inventing a word, they are using a very old one.
- Humor. In many contexts the phrase is a light, self-aware choice. "That's a whole nother can of worms" signals a friendly, relaxed tone.
Wiktionary quotes a 2009 Popular Mechanics line saying that delivering "the feel, look and operation of a real luxury car, is a whole nother ball of wax," a sign that the phrase reaches edited, published writing when the tone is conversational.
When "a whole nother" is fine, and when it is wrong
The honest rule: it is fine in speech and wrong in formal writing. Between those two, it depends on your tone.
Fine to use:
- Conversation, casual meetings, podcasts and video.
- Texts, chat and social media posts.
- Personal blogs, humor writing and dialogue in fiction, where the aim is a natural voice.
- Informal email to colleagues who already talk this way.
Avoid:
- Academic essays, reports, cover letters and legal or official documents.
- Business writing for clients or senior readers you do not know.
- Anything graded on standard usage. Grammarist calls the phrase "nonstandard" and says it "might be considered out of place in any type of serious writing."
- Writing for learners of English, unless you explain it. A learner who meets "nother" on its own may not recognize it as a form of "another."
Better formal options:
| Instead of | Write |
|---|---|
| "That's a whole nother issue." | "That is a separate issue." |
| "It's a whole nother level." | "It is on an entirely different level." |
| "a whole nother story" | "a different story altogether" |
| "a whole nother" (general) | "a whole other" |
"A whole other" is the standard workaround, and Grammarist recommends it for formal contexts. Note that it is still conversational in tone. In very formal prose, "entirely different" or "separate" reads more naturally.
"A whole nother," "a whole 'nother," or "a whole nuther"?
You will see three spellings:
- a whole nother: the spelling Wiktionary uses as its headword, and the one most people will recognize.
- a whole 'nother: the apostrophe marks the missing "a" of "another." It appears in the 1887 quotation. Grammarist advises against it, saying the apostrophe makes the phrase confusing.
- a whole nuther: a phonetic spelling that exaggerates the pronunciation, usually for comic or regional effect.
If you are going to write it at all, "a whole nother" is the clearest choice.
Is it an error or a feature?
"A whole nother" belongs to a small group of phrases that usage guides dislike and speakers love. It is similar to how could care less vs couldn't care less works: the strict reading says the phrase is illogical, and the everyday reading says everyone knows what it means.
It is different from a true misuse such as "for all intensive purposes." A mishearing produces a phrase that does not mean what the speaker thinks. "A whole nother" means exactly what the speaker intends; it is just informal. Our guide to commonly misused idioms and why the errors are predictable separates the genuine errors from these informal but deliberate choices.
If you are curious how an early date like 1887 is found and checked, our explainer on where idioms come from and how a phrase origin is traced walks through the method, including why two references can give two different "first" dates.
Frequently asked questions
Is "a whole nother" grammatically correct?
It is informal and nonstandard. Wiktionary labels it US, informal and proscribed, and Grammarist calls it nonstandard. It is fine in casual speech but should be avoided in formal writing.
Is "nother" a real word?
Yes. Grammarist says "nother" has been in use since the 13th century as a misdivision of "another." Wiktionary lists it as an informal, chiefly US adjective meaning "different, other." Outside "a whole nother" and some dialects, it is rarely used today.
What is the correct way to say "a whole nother"?
In formal writing, use "a whole other," "an entirely different" or "a completely separate." In speech, "a whole nother" is widely used and understood.
What is tmesis?
Tmesis is splitting a word and inserting another word inside it, as in "abso-damn-lutely." The Grammarphobia Blog notes the term comes from the Greek verb temnein, "to cut," and that the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest English example is from 1592.
How old is the phrase "a whole nother"?
Wiktionary's earliest quotation is from 1887, in a story by Mary Louisa Molesworth. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest example is reported as 1890. Either way, the phrase dates to at least the late 19th century.
