from soup to nuts

Idioms and Phrases

Also, from A to Z or start to finish or stem to stern . From beginning to end, throughout, as in We went through the whole agenda, from soup to nuts , or She had to learn a whole new system from A to Z , or It rained from start to finish , or We did over the whole house from stem to stern . The first expression, with its analogy to the first and last courses of a meal, appeared in slightly different forms (such as from potage to cheese ) from the 1500s on; the precise wording here dates only from the mid-1900s. The second expression alludes to the first and last letters of the Roman alphabet; see also alpha and omega . The third comes from racing and alludes to the entire course of the race; it dates from the mid-1800s. The last variant is nautical, alluding to the front or stem , and rear or stern , of a vessel.

Example Sentences

Jessica Battilana broke down the festive meal, from soup to nuts, in a recent article for The New York Times Style Magazine.

From New York Times

Because a movie is edited and there's never a take that's perfect from soup to nuts, from A to Z.

From Salon

"He just admitted to a civil rights violation from soup to nuts."

From Fox News

“He just admitted to a civil rights violation from soup to nuts.”

From Seattle Times

The three partners’ different skill sets, Chinn said, “take you from soup to nuts on any transaction.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• absolutely
• entirely
• perfectly
• positively
• quite
• thoroughly
• totally
• wholly