lock, stock, and barrel
lock, stock, and barrel
Entirely or completely. Much to his wife's surprise, he cleaned out the basement, lock, stock, and barrel. When my son came home from his football game, he was so hungry that he ate everything in the refrigerator, lock, stock, and barrel.
See also: and, barrel
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
lock, stock, and barrel
Cliché everything. We had to move everything out of the house—lock, stock, and barrel. We lost everything—lock, stock, and barrel—in the fire.
See also: and, barrel
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
lock, stock, and barrel
The entirety; all of something. For example, Jean moved out of the house, lock, stock, and barrel. This expression alludes to the three elements of a firearm-the lock or firing mechanism, the stock or handle, and the barrel or tube. [Early 1800s]
See also: and, barrel
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
lock, stock, and barrel
COMMON You use lock, stock, and barrel to talk about every part of something. It would have been much easier for us to have shut the business down lock, stock and barrel. He has moved down from the north-east, lock, stock and barrel. Note: The three main parts which make up a complete gun are the lock, the stock, and the barrel.
See also: and, barrel
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
lock, stock, and barrel
including everything; completely.Lock, stock, and barrel refers literally to the complete mechanism of a firearm.
See also: and, barrel
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
ˌlock, stock and ˈbarrel
including everything; completely: They were all emigrating so they were selling everything they had, lock, stock and barrel.The lock, stock and barrel are the three main parts of a rifle.
See also: and, barrel, stock
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
lock, stock, and barrel
To the greatest or most complete extent; wholly: an estate that was auctioned off lock, stock, and barrel.
See also: and, barrel
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
lock, stock, and barrel
The whole thing; all of something. Originally this term meant all three elements of a firearm—the lock or firing mechanism, the stock or handle, and the barrel or tube. It began to be transferred to the entirety of anything in the early nineteenth century, although for a time it was also put as stock, lock, and barrel. See also hook, line, and sinker.
See also: and, barrel
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
lock, stock, and barrel
The whole thing. A musket was made up of a flintlock mechanism that produced the power to launch the ball, a wooden stock that held the lock and the barrel, and the barrel through which the musket ball was propelled en route to its target. Put all three together and you have the whole shooting match. The phrase was first used in the early 19th century to mean an entire entity or quantity.
See also: and, barrel
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
- lock, stock and barrel
- strike me pink
- butter wouldn't melt (in his/her mouth), looks as if
- (as) black as the minister's coat
- (as) black as ink
- (as) black as a stack of black cats
- fall on hard times
- you don't say
- you don't say!
- make (oneself) understood