cover the field
To be thorough and comprehensive in what is presented or dealt with. This thesis will attempt to cover the field of English Law from 1950 to the present. Your final paper is expected to cover the field of Romantic poetry, so you can't limit yourself to just Keats and Wordsworth. If you want an A, you really need to cover the field of Dickens' works. You should spend at least some time on every work we read this semester.
cover the territory
1. To travel to, deal with, or be responsible for a large, specific area. When I was a reporter, I had to cover the territory of the entire northern part of the state. Considering there's only 24 hours in a day, how exactly am I supposed to the cover the territory of this whole area? Here's a map—you two are to cover the territory of the highlighted section.
2. To be thorough and comprehensive in what is presented or dealt with. This thesis will attempt to cover the territory of English Law from 1950 to the present. Your final paper is expected to cover the territory of Romantic poetry, so you can't limit yourself to just Keats and Wordsworth. If you want an A, you really need to cover the territory of Dickens' works. You should spend at least some time on every work we read this semester.
cover the waterfront
To be thorough and comprehensive in what is presented or dealt with. This thesis will attempt to cover the waterfront of English Law from 1950 to the present. Your final paper is expected to cover the waterfront of Romantic poetry, so you can't limit yourself to just Keats and Wordsworth. If you want an A, you really need to cover the waterfront of Dickens' works. You should spend at least some time on every work we read this semester.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cover the territory
1. Lit. to travel or deal with a specific large area. The sales manager was responsible for all of the eastern states and personally covered the territory twice each year.
2. Fig. to deal with all matters relating to a specific topic. That lecture really covered the territory in only an hour.
cover the waterfront
to deal with every detail concerning a specific topic. Her talk really covered the waterfront. By the time she finished, I knew much more than I wanted to know.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
cover the field
Also, cover the territory or waterfront . Be comprehensive. For example, The review course will cover the field very well, or Bob's new assignment really covers the territory, or The superintendent's speech covered the waterfront on the drug problem. These expressions all employ the verb cover in the sense of "extend over" or "include," a usage dating from the late 1700s, with the nouns ( field, ground, territory, waterfront) each meaning "whole area."
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cover the waterfront
mainly AMERICANIf you cover the waterfront, you include or deal with a very wide range of things, or every aspect of something. Moving full-time into TV presenting, Tyler has covered the waterfront from current affairs programmes and documentaries to daytime chat shows.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
cover the waterfront
cover every aspect of something. North American informal 1999 Tony Parsons Man and Boy And I suddenly realised how many father figures Luke has, father figures who seem to cover the waterfront of parental responsibilities.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
cover the waterfront
To treat, examine, or include a full range of things: a book that covers the waterfront on starting your own business.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
cover the waterfront, to
To include or comprise everything about something, to leave nothing out. Why this American colloquialism should use “waterfront” to mean everything about some subject is a mystery: for example, “This American history course begins with Columbus and ends with the last election—it really covers the waterfront.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer