Dictionary

whole shebang en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Fixed expression from shebang, first attested in the United States from the early 1860s, from which time it has increasingly dominated the uses of "shebang" itself.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, informal, with-definite-article) Everything; the entire thing.
   • The whole shebang cooks in the slow cooker, which will keep it warm until you are ready to serve it. 2011, Diane Phillips, Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever with More Than 400 Easy-to-Make Recipes, page 305:
   • 2002, Treasure Planet, directed by Ron Clements and John Musker Doctor, I'd love to chat. Tea, cake, the whole shebang. But I've got a ship to launch and you've got your outfit to buff up.
   • The festival had balloons, flowers, fireworks, performers, and the whole shebang.
   • On the third the whole "chebang" was removed [...] 1863, James Bryan, A Short Account of the "Mary Ann" Hospital, Grand Gulf, Miss.:
   • “Food here's pretty good. They don't serve bog juice. Real tea and real coffee. Ice cream, pop, chips. The whole shebang. Every day's a wingding, brother.” 2004, Leo Furey, The Long Run, page 331:
   • Of course, they would win the whole shebang in 1974, when “Waterloo” [won] (sung in English by Swedes about a Frenchman in Belgium— how much more international can one song get?), but the bitter taste of past failures is not something one forgets... 2011, Dave Thompson, 1000 Songs that Rock Your World, page 209:
   • I am growing more and more sick of factions, gossip, jealousies, recriminations, excoriations and the whole literary shee-bang. 1924, Harold Hart Crane, letter

Forms

Synonyms

whole package · whole enchilada · everything but the kitchen sink · the whole nine yards · whole ball of wax · whole smash · bag and baggage · full monty · whole hog · whole kit and caboodle · all the marbles · everything but the galley stove · hook · whole shitting match · everything under the sun · stock and barrel · the works · line and sinker · everytang · the whole bang shoot · whole shebang · whole shooting match · lock · kit and caboodle

Translations (30)

fi ihan kaikki (the entire thing) · es toda la shuntalada (the entire thing) · hu minden, ami kell (the entire thing) · sv hela rasket (the entire thing) · hu ami csak kell (the entire thing) · es todo el paquete (the entire thing) · sv hela klabbet (the entire thing) · nl de hele bende (the entire thing) · ru всё и вся (the entire thing) · es shuntalada entera (the entire thing) · ru всего-то делов (the entire thing) · es todo el tinglado (the entire thing) · fi koko hoito (the entire thing) · fi koko roska (the entire thing) · pl cały ten kram (the entire thing) · nl de hele rataplan (the entire thing) · ca tot plegat (the entire thing) · sv allt (the entire thing) · fr tout l'attirail (the entire thing) · es tinglado entero (the entire thing) · nl de hele reutemeteut (the entire thing) · ru вся штука (the entire thing) · hu hóbelevanc (the entire thing) · ru вот и всё дело (the entire thing) · fi koko helahoito (the entire thing) · fi koko repertuaari (the entire thing) · nl de hele mikmak (the entire thing) · fr tout le bataclan (the entire thing) · sv (hela) rubbet (the entire thing) · hu miskulancia (the entire thing)