In the Same Boat

The most solidly documented early use is in Thomas Hudson's 1584 English translation of Du Bartas's Historie of Judith, already used metaphorically rather than literally. Some sources claim a much older origin among the ancient Greeks, describing passengers who shared the same risk aboard a small vessel at sea, but that classical connection has never been documented with a specific source. The underlying logic needs no embellishment either way: once a boat has set sail, everyone aboard shares exactly the same fate, like it or not.