the mother of something

the mother of all (something)

The largest, most extreme, or ultimate example of a particular kind of thing. Wow, that is the mother of all sandwiches. It's nearly a foot high! Ugh, that was the mother of all traffic jams. I was stuck on the highway for nearly an hour! Economists are warning that there could be the mother of all the stock market crashes after prices continued climbing to unprecedented heights.

See also: all, mother, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

the ˈmother (and ˈfather) of (all) something

(informal) used to emphasize that something is very large, important, etc: There was the mother of all storms that night. It lasted for hours. ♢ Sorry we’re so late. We got stuck in the mother of all traffic jams on the way.

See also: mother, of, something

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017