told

all told

in total. There were 550 people there, all told.

See also: all

A little bird told me (so).

something that you say in order to let someone know that you are not going to tell them who gave you the information being discussed. 'So who told you she'd got the job?' 'Oh, let's just say a little bird told me so.'

See also: bird, little

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all told

as a total. All told, there were 550 people there.

See also: all