whole ball of wax, the

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Related to shooting match: the whole shooting match

whole ball of wax, the

Also, the whole enchilada or shooting match or shebang . Everything, all the elements, the entire affair. For example, The union demanded higher wages, a pension plan, job security-the whole ball of wax, or The contract includes paperback rights, film rights, electronic media-the whole enchilada, or She lost her job, her pension, her health-care coverage, the whole shooting match. Not all the allusions in these slangy terms are clear. Ball of wax may refer to a 17th-century English legal practice whereby land was divided among heirs by covering scraps of paper representing portions of land with wax, rolling each into a ball, and drawing the balls from a hat. An enchilada combines several foods inside a tortilla; a shooting match denotes a shooting competition; and a shebang is a rude hut or shelter. The first two of these slangy terms date from the second half of the 1900s, the last two from the late 1800s. For synonyms, see whole kit and caboodle; whole megillah.
See also: ball, of, whole
References in periodicals archive ?
InterShoot is an international shooting match for air pistol and air rifle competitors and has been held in The Hague for the past seven years.
City's shooting star is enjoying life of Ryley; Golden boy Finbar fires his way to top of sport SHOOTING SPECIAL
It happens, and every time they do an army of thumb-twiddling scribes grabs the opportunity to overanalyse the whole shooting match.
Volatility is a good thing ...honestly
At this moment" meant lying in the grass at Camp Perry, swaddled in a thick leather shooting jacket that weighed close to 20 pounds, trying to finish a shooting match.
A long shot
In my new book Combat Shooting from the Gun Digest folks, I make the point that, "A shooting match is not a gunfight, but a gunfight most definitely is a shooting match.
The rationale of combat handgun competition: why do defensive handgun owners shoot "combat matches"? For the same mason professional fighters spar
It is hard to know who was hurting most - Argentina because as hosts they expected to win the whole shooting match or Brazil, who were hoping to start taking the first steps to building the team that will win the World Cup in 2014 (which will be played on their soil).
The bigger they are ... All pain and no gain for big guns [bar] YOU'RE OUT: Uruguay''s goalkeeper Fernando Muslera saves Carlos Tevez's penalty in the shootout that saw Argentina eliminated from the Copa America
The challenge, regarded as one of the toughest challenges available for the armed forces, has been running since 1959, when a group of Welsh Territorial Army soldiers designed a weekend training event, featuring long-distance marching over the Cambrian Mountains, culminating in a shooting match on the Sennybridge training area.
Soldiers tough it out in the Cambrian mountains for annual training event
Chicago do not have the weapons to get into a shooting match and their best hope is for a lowscoring, grind-it-out-on-the-ground contest.
Expect a low score in the Chicago cold; NFL SPREADWISE
Think of the money saved in council tax if they scrapped the whole shooting match.
From The Forum
We really would be better off out of the whole rotten European Union shooting match, leaving Europe to sink or swim without the British buoyancy aid which is provided by us in no small measure.
At least the euro has been kept at bay; VOICE OF THE NORTH
What Pininfarina needs is for Ratan Tata to buy the whole shooting match and use the styling house's still considerable talents to beautify the raft of new products he's got up his sleeve.
THE MIGHTY PIN; Farewell to style legend Pininfarina
That said, with only six stages to play through, Parappa vets will get through the whole shooting match in less than an hour.
Snappy but short reheat; Steve Lawson's games and technology round-up PARAPPA THE RAPPER *** PSP
THE Eisteddfod arrives in Mold in just over three months' time, and while organisers are busy behind the scenes getting together rosters for gigs featuring Wales' finest music acts, I can't help thinking back to a concert held almost 25 years ago that was, in a way, responsible for starting off the whole shooting match.
gog SOUND; GO... to a concert
Whether that analysis is conducted at the end of our days or the end of the whole shooting match is not the point.
Goats aren't all baaad; nothing in the Bible is black and white, least of all the recipe for salvation
Head barman Andy Smith runs the whole shooting match with a friendly, efficient team helping out behind the bar and chef Madga Szpilczunska in charge of the kitchen.
PUB OF THE WEEK: Smithie's Ale House Eyre Place, Edinburgh
That's more important than players, managers, directors, the whole shooting match.
Survival is the key for a City in crisis
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