the whole megillah

the whole megillah

Everything; the entirety of something. There's nothing more to tell you. That's the whole megillah. While I'm in Europe, I want to go to Paris, London—the whole megillah.
See also: Megillah, whole
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

whole megillah

Also, whole schmeer. Everything, every aspect or element, as in The accountant went through the whole megillah all over again, or Her divorce lawyer took him for the house, the car, the whole schmeer. The first term alludes to the Megillah, five books of the Bible read on certain Jewish feast days and considered by some to be very long and tedious. Schmeer is Yiddish for "smear" or "smudge." [Slang; second half of 1900s]
See also: Megillah, whole
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

the whole megillah

something in its entirety, especially a complicated set of arrangements or a long-winded story. North American informal
Megillah is the Hebrew word for a ‘scroll’ and refers particularly to each of five books of the Jewish Scriptures (the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) appointed to be read in the synagogue on certain important days.
See also: Megillah, whole
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • Megillah
  • whole megillah
  • the whole jimbang
  • the whole jingbang
  • the whole lot
  • the whole ball of wax
  • whole ball of wax
  • whole ball of wax, the
  • the whole shooting match
  • the whole shebang
References in periodicals archive
"You were hired for the whole megillah," Davidson say, explaining how everyone's tasks fed into the ultimate goal.
The spacesuits took years of Rolling Meadows man's work 'We did that, that boot print'
He means the whole megillah, including what'll happen after the bulk of his readers die.
Half-full of it
This would mean the actual design: Where there would be water; where there would be cars; where there would be bridges; what the streetscape alongside it would be like; the whole megillah. We understand that it's harder to get money out of a bond bill than it is to get it written into the bond bill, but it really seems to be within our grasp.
Hope floats; Canalfest 2014 celebrates vision of reviving Blackstone Canal
"I'm not talking about the nomination, I'm talking about the whole megillah."
Trump lays his cards on the table as a candidate