The whole shebang
Meaning
All of it; the whole thing.
Origin
This is an American phrase, from the 1920s. The first question for those of us not living in the USA, and I suspect quite a few that do, is, what's a shebang? That isn't so easy to answer. The earliest known citation of the word uses it as some form of hut or rustic dwelling. That's in Walt Whitman's Specimen Days, from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose, 1862:
The word appears to have arrived fully-formed in the 1860s. Prior to 1862, there are no examples in print. During the 1860s there are dozens of examples in US newspapers, literature etc.
That 'vehicle' usage does suggest a possible link with the name for a form of early UK sightseeing bus, i.e. charabanc (pronounced sharra-bang). This derives from the French char-à-bancs - carriage with benches. Charabancs, affectionately known to passengers as 'sharras', were a commonplace in Britain from the introduction of horse-drawn examples in the early 1800s to as late as the 1970s.
Could 'shebang' be a variant of 'sharra-bang'? Well, it's certainly possible, although the evidence to support that view is entirely circumstantial.
In June 1872, the same year that Twain was using 'shebang' to mean vehicle, the Sedalia Daily Democrat printed a piece which used the name just to mean 'thing', and this is the earliest example of 'the whole shebang':
Meaning
All of it; the whole thing.
Origin
This is an American phrase, from the 1920s. The first question for those of us not living in the USA, and I suspect quite a few that do, is, what's a shebang? That isn't so easy to answer. The earliest known citation of the word uses it as some form of hut or rustic dwelling. That's in Walt Whitman's Specimen Days, from Complete Poetry and Collected Prose, 1862:
"Besides the hospitals, I also go occasionally on long tours through the camps, talking with the men, &c. Sometimes at night among the groups around the fires, in their shebang enclosures of bushes."Just a few years later, the Marysville Tribune, November 1869 printed a list of 'The Idioms of Our New West' and defined 'shebang' like this:
"'Shebang' is applied to any sort of house or office."Soon after that, Mark Twain uses 'shebang' to refer to a form of vehicle - in Roughing It, 1872:
"Take back your money, madam. We can't allow it. You're welcome to ride here as long as you please, but this shebang's chartered, and we can't let you pay a cent."There are various 'the whole' expressions which derive from America - 'the whole ball of wax', 'the whole nine yards', 'the whole box of dice', 'the whole shooting match', 'the whole enchilada', 'the whole kit and caboodle' etc. Whilst these by and large refer to real objects, none of them represent 'wholeness' and they have just been tacked on to 'the whole' to make catchy phrases. 'Shebang' was also used that way - and that the fact that people using it didn't know what a shebang was didn't really matter. It was simply a colourful way of saying 'thing'.
The word appears to have arrived fully-formed in the 1860s. Prior to 1862, there are no examples in print. During the 1860s there are dozens of examples in US newspapers, literature etc.
That 'vehicle' usage does suggest a possible link with the name for a form of early UK sightseeing bus, i.e. charabanc (pronounced sharra-bang). This derives from the French char-à-bancs - carriage with benches. Charabancs, affectionately known to passengers as 'sharras', were a commonplace in Britain from the introduction of horse-drawn examples in the early 1800s to as late as the 1970s. Could 'shebang' be a variant of 'sharra-bang'? Well, it's certainly possible, although the evidence to support that view is entirely circumstantial.
In June 1872, the same year that Twain was using 'shebang' to mean vehicle, the Sedalia Daily Democrat printed a piece which used the name just to mean 'thing', and this is the earliest example of 'the whole shebang':
"Well, the Democracy can flax [beat up] the whole shebang, and we hope to see our party united."See also: the whole kit and caboodle and the whole nine yards.
其他例
Maybe pumpkins are the answer. The big orange vegetables are new to
France. So is Halloween. All Saints' Day has been recognized and
celebrated for many centuries. But Halloween is a new import from America,
along with the whole shebang of decorations, customs and commercial
opportunities that accompany it. Department store workers wore costumes in
Paris last week - stimulating interest and sales, no doubt. Even out here
in the middle of nowhere, Halloween is catching on.
Judge Michael Mukasey's legal philosophy appears in line with the White House, and unlike Alberto Gonzales, he carries little political baggage. Still, U.S. President Bush's attorney general choice may be tough to decode. (Transcript)
baggage (FEELINGS)
noun [U]
the beliefs and feelings that you have which influence how you think and behave:
We all carry a lot of emotional baggage around with us.
works
The noun works has 4 meanings:
Meaning #1: buildings for carrying on industrial labor
Synonyms: plant, industrial plant
group noun [C] plural works
an industrial building, especially one where a lot of people are employed:
a steel/car works]
Meaning #2: everything available; usually preceded by `the'
--> Synonyms: whole shebang, whole kit and caboodle, kit and caboodle,whole kit and boodle, kit and boodle, whole kit, whole caboodle, whole
works, full treatment
Meaning #3: performance of moral or religious acts
Synonym: deedsMeaning #4: the internal mechanism of a device
Synonym: workings
━━ n. 仕事, 作業, 労働; 事業; 勉強; 努力; 職（業）, 勤め口; 細工, 製作（品）; （普通pl.） （芸術上の）作品,
著作; やり方, 腕前; しわざ; 作用, 効果; 【物】仕事（量）; （普通pl.） 土木［防御］工事; （土木による）建造物;
（pl.） ((単複両扱い)) 工場; （the ～s） （機械の）作動部分, 仕掛け, 機構; 道具; 〔話〕 （the ～s）一切合切, 全部; 【神学】（pl.） 業(わざ).
all in the [a] day's work 通常の, あたりまえの.
at work 仕事をして; 運転［作動］中で.
fall [get (down)] to work 仕事に取り掛る ((on)); 作動し出す ((to do, doing)).
give … the works 〔話〕 （人を）ひどい目にあわす; （人に）洗いざらいしゃべる; …にできるだけのことをしてやる.
go to work 仕事に出かける; 仕事に取り掛る.
gum up the works 〔話〕 活動を停止させる.
have one's work cut out (for one) 〔話〕 （特に時間を限られた）難しい仕事を引き受けている.
in the works 計画［進行］中で.
in work 職に就いて.
make hard work of （仕事を）さも大変そうにみせる.
make light work of …をさっさと済ませる.
make short work of 〔話〕 …を手早く片づける.
out of work 職を失って.
set to work 仕事に取掛る.
set [put] … to work 人を仕事に取りかからせる.
shoot the works 〔米俗〕 一か八(ばち)かやってみる.
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