everything but the kitchen sink
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everything but the kitchen sink
Nearly everything one can reasonably imagine; many different things, often to the point of excess or redundancy. After the bank foreclosed on our house, we had to pack up everything but the kitchen sink into our truck and drive across the state to my mother's house. We were only going to be camping for two nights, but she still insisted on bringing everything but the kitchen sink along with us.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
everything but the kitchen sink
Cliché almost everything one can think of. When Sally went off to college, she took everything but the kitchen sink. John orders everything but the kitchen sink when he goes out to dinner, especially if someone else is paying for it.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
everything but the kitchen sink
Also, everything under the sun. Including just about everything, whether appropriate or not. For example, Our new car has every feature-everything but the kitchen sink. This hyperbolic term may date from the early 1900s but only became widespread in the mid-1900s. The variant employs under the sun in the sense of "everything on earth," a usage dating from about a.d. 1000.
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.
everything but the kitchen sink
You use everything but the kitchen sink to talk about a lot of different objects, many of which are unnecessary. They tend to pack everything but the kitchen sink in rather too many suitcases. Note: Kitchen sink is used in other structures to mean a lot of different objects. Their stores sell everything including the kitchen sink. Note: This expression is used humorously.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
everything but the kitchen sink
everything imaginable. informal, humorousThis expression was identified by Eric Partridge in his Dictionary of Forces' Slang ( 1948 ) as being used in the context of an intense bombardment in which the enemy fired everything they had except the kitchen sink (or including the kitchen sink ).
1965 Ed McBain Doll Brown began searching. ‘Everything in here but the kitchen sink,’ he said.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
everything but/bar the kitchen ˈsink
(informal, humorous) many more things than are necessary: She was only staying for a few days, but she brought everything with her bar the kitchen sink!Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
everything but the kitchen sink
verbMcGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
everything but the kitchen sink
Virtually everything, implying things inappropriate as well as fitting. This term is thought to have originated in the early twentieth century and became very common after World War II. “[We] military services . . . are such perfectionists that we want everything but the kitchen sink in a weapon” (Wall Street Journal, 1958).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer