Identically similar
The phrase is due to Eugène Ionesco. In La Leçon (1951), the Professor is trying to get his pupil to translate a sentence into espagnol (Spanish) and néo-espagnol (neo-Spanish, an imaginary language). The differences between the two languages are imperceptible, and indeed the translated form of the sentence looks and sounds exactly like the French. Hence it is very easy to get them confused. Here is some of what the Professor says:
Soyez attentive et prenez note. Je vous dirai la phrase en espagnol, puis en néo-espagnol et, enfin, en latin. Vous répéterez après moi. Attention, car les ressemblances sont grandes. Ce sont des ressemblances identiques. Écoutez, suivez bien… | Be attentive and take note. I will tell you the sentence in Spanish, then in neo-Spanish, and lastly in Latin. You will repeat after me. Careful! for the similarities are great. They are identical similarities. Listen, follow closely… |
The ridiculous phrase des ressemblances identiques, emblematic of the Professor’s overbearing and nonsensical pedantry, has stuck with me. From it I derive “identically similar.”