all-American en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- ôl′ə-mĕr′ĭ-kən
- /ˌɔl əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kən/ (General-American)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌɔːl əˈmɛɹ.ɪ.kən/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From all- + American. Americanism first recorded in the 1880s; the substantive usage originating early on as an ellipsis of all-American athlete, player, team; thereafter transferred to apply broadly to people or things as in All-American boy, girl, family.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Comprising things that are wholly from the United States of America; completely made in the United States.
One month director John Woo might be directing Jackie Chan in Rumble in the Bronx (1996), and the next an all-American cast in Broken Arrow (1999) or Face Off (2000),^([sic]) both with John Travolta.
2009, William J. Palmer, “Neo-spin”, in The Films of the Nineties: The Decade of Spin, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, →ISBN, page 218:"All-American" Transformers. Perfected first, from the stand-point of correct engineering, by proper turns radio, impedance and shielding—then, in our latest models, given the finishing touches of outward beauty that the more critical eye demanded. […] Your dealer has "All-American" Transformers.
1922 December, “The New ‘All-American’ Audio Frequency Transformers [advertisement]”, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Radio News, volume 4, number 6, New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, →OCLC, page 1221:Her name [Kate Spade] became a shorthand for the cute, clever bags that were an instant hit with cosmopolitan women in the early stages of their careers and, later, young girls — status symbols of a more attainable, all-American sort than a Fendi clutch or Chanel bag.
2018 June 5, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Vanessa Friedman, Matthew Schneier, “Kate Spade, whose handbags carried women into adulthood, is dead at 55”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2018:The DC-10 with a GE engine would be wrongfully touted as an all-American airplane. The GE engine was part French. The DC-10 had Italian fuselage sections. There was little awareness of the subcontracts with offshore suppliers.
[2001], James West, chapter 8, in The End of an Era: My Story of the L-1011, [Philadelphia, Pa.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 71:
-
(not-comparable) Regarded as embodying the ideal qualities of the United States; typically American; (specifically) of a person: courageous, heroic; honest, wholesome, etc.
Amelia [Earhart] looked the part of an all-American girl—pretty, confident yet slightly demure, exhibiting not a trace of brashness.
2010, Kathleen C. Winters, “Off and Running”, in Amelia Earhart: The Turbulent Life of an American Icon, New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, page 89:His name was Nate, and he was the definition of an all-American small-town guy. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and wore a leather jacket with an eagle on the back. He was tall and had a strong, confident walk.
2014 March 26, Matthew Quaine Thompkins, “Hide the Gun”, in The Travels of the Black Raven, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 249:Tom Sawyer may have been called an all-American boy because his thoughts and actions were typical of the thoughts and actions of all American boys.
2012, Larzer Ziff, “America as Middle Class: Adolescence, Frank Merriwell, Penrod”, in All-American Boy (Discovering America; 4), Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, →ISBN, page 95:The [Davy] Crockett revival of the 1950's engineered by Walt Disney presented an all-American boy scout type as a mass-culture hero.
1968, Richard M[ercer] Dorson, “Folklore in Relation to American Studies”, in Ray B[roadus] Browne, Richard H. Crowder, Virgil L. Lokke, William T. Stafford, editors, Frontiers of American Culture, [West Lafayette, Ind.]: Purdue University Studies, →OCLC, page 191:
-
(alt-of, not-comparable) Alternative letter-case form of All-American.
alt of All-American
The highly anticipated all-American matchup between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe — marking the first US Open semifinals between two US men in nearly 20 years — will cost you quite a few Honey Deuces to attend.
2024 September 6, Jordan Valinsky, “Ticket prices for the all-American men’s matchup at the US Open are surging”, in CNN:
Deriveds
all-Americanness · All-American Canal
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (2)
fi periamerikkalainen (comprising things wholly from the United States of America; made in the United States) · fi aitoamerikkalainen (comprising things wholly from the United States of America; made in the United States)