"From the Cradle to the Grave" by Swiss artist Adolf Wolfli
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Words and Their Stories: How Do You Talk About Everything? (VOA)
From VOA Learning English, this is Words and Their Stories.
Today let’s talk about … everything.
American English has many ways to talk about everything under the sun.
Cradle to grave means an entire life cycle. A cradle is a bed for very young babies. And a grave is a burial place. So from cradle to grave means from birth to death.
It could be used to describe something that happens over the course of a person’s life. For example, “I know a man who lived in the same country village his entire life -- from cradle to grave.” That is a literal use of the expression.
This expression is often used in business, meaning the entire life cycle of a product or process.
Here is an example:
"Marcia is responsible for the life of this product from beginning to end."
"In other words, she’s in charge from cradle to grave."
"Correct. Check with her before changing anything."
Another less common way to say cradle to grave is womb to tomb. But that one rhymes.
If you like food expressions, you can use soup to nuts, or from beginning to end. A dinner may start with soup and end with nuts.
For example, you could say, “He explained the process to us from soup to nuts ... from beginning to end.”
Everything from A to Z uses the alphabet to give a range of everything. It describes content more than process. It means that nothing important was left out.
For example, “The rescue training covered everything from A to Z. The instructors taught everything you need to know for a successful rescue.”
Everything but the kitchen sink is an expression that means a person included a lot of stuff – maybe too much stuff.
Let’s say my friend is going camping for the weekend. And he packs too many things -- things he won’t possibly need, like an iron, a toaster and a television. I could say, “He prepared for a weekend of camping and packed everything but the kitchen sink!”
We have many expressions that simply use the word “whole” to make fun phrases that mean “everything." For example, we have the whole ball of wax. When you say the whole ball of wax, you mean everything!
This expression may have come from a practice in the 1600s, where land was distributed in a sort of lottery. The amount of each portion of land was concealed in a ball of wax and then drawn from a hat. But no one knows for sure if this is the origin.
The origin of the whole nine yards is even more mysterious. It could come from the military, sports or even Scottish dress for men.
If you like to use expressions with known origins, use the whole enchilada. An enchilada is a Mexican dish. Vegetables or meat fill a tortilla, and is topped with a sauce. The whole enchilada means the entirety of something, especially something impressive or outstanding.
For example, “He has a job with money, respect, and personal satisfaction -- the whole enchilada!”
The word ”shebang” is also used this way. In fact, people used the whole shebang without knowing what a shebang actually is. Word historians do not agree on where “shebang” comes from either. One of the first recorded use of the whole shebang, meaning everything, is in the late 1800s.
If you like expressions that are fun to say, use the whole kit and caboodle.
And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
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"The Whole Enchilada" - Keb Mo, Daryl Hall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbOXTLj-lKM
Song: The Whole Enchilada
Artist: Keb Mo Daryl Hall
You've been wishin', all of your life
For a woman that'll love you
Tell the truth and treat you right
And you've been lonely
Cryin' yourself to sleep
Now you've got a girl
Who can rock your world
Put a smile on your face
And love you're gonna keep now
This is the beginning
Are you ready to learn
To love somebody for a lifetime
Wake up it's your turn
So tell me, now thatcha' got her
The whole enchilada
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Are you gonna be
Any better
Than the man you had to be to get her
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Are you ready
To get involved
Where your participation is needed
To get things resolved
We all get used to
Livin' by ourselves
But now you're dealin' with a situation
That involves someone else
Well it's about to get different
You're gonna need a new device
'Cause she's gonna open up your mind
And open up your life
So tell me now thatcha' got her
The whole enchilada
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Are you gonna be
Any better
Than the man you had to be to get her
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
This is the beginning
Are you ready to learn
To love somebody for a lifetime
Wake up it's your turn (it's all you baby)
So tell me now thatcha' got her
The whole enchilada
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Are you gonna be
Any better
Than the man you had to be to get her
Now thatcha' got her
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
Whatcha' gonna do
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Keb Mo and Daryl Hall
Keb Mo is a three-time American Grammy Award-winning blues musician. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has been described as "a living link to the seminal Delta blues that travelled up the Mississippi River and across the expanse of America".
Daryl Hall is an American rock, R&B and soul singer, keyboardist, guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as the co-founder and lead vocalist of Hall & Oates (with guitarist and songwriter John Oates). Since late 2007, he has hosted the web television series, Live from Daryl's House. (Source: Wikipedia)
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