all over but the shouting

Inevitable at this point, as of an outcome. (Said especially of sporting events.) With that last goal, it's all over but the shouting at this point.

all over but the shouting

The outcome is a certainty, as in When Jim hit the ball over the fence, it was all over but the shouting. The term's first use in print, in 1842, was by Welsh sportswriter Charles James Apperley, but some authorities believe it originated even earlier in the United States for a close political race. Today it is applied to any contest. A common British version is all over bar the shouting.

all over but the shouting, it's

The outcome is certain, though it may not yet be widely known. Probably originating in the mid-nineteenth century, the phrase was first used for the outcome of sporting events, elections, and similar competitive undertakings, and still is.