once and for all

once and for all

Permanently. Tom went back to the outpost to settle his feud once and for all. The president is hoping to silence critics once and for all with this latest law.

See also: all, and, once

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

once and for all

finally; permanently. Sue: I'm going to get this place organized once and for all! Alice: That'll be the day! "We need to get this straightened out once and for all," said Bob, for the fourth time today.

See also: all, and, once

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

once and for all

As a settled matter, finally, permanently, as in Once and for all, we're not hiring that organist again, or We've settled that question once and for all. This expression is in effect an abbreviation for "one time and for all time." [Late 1400s]

See also: all, and, once

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.

once and for all (or once for all)

now and for the last time; finally.

See also: all, and, once

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

ˌonce and for ˈall

finally and definitely: I’ve decided once and for all that this city is not the place for me.

See also: all, and, once

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

once and for all

Finally and decisively. This phrase, literally meaning “this one final time which will serve forever,” dates from the fifteenth century. The earliest appearance in print is in William Caxton’s translation of the Foure Sonnes of Aymon (ca. 1489): “We oughte to ask it of hym ones for all.”

See also: all, and, once

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer