end
all ends up completely. informal
2018Simon WildeEngland: The Biography 'If I am beaten all ends up and get away with it, I have forgotten about it as soon as the bowler starts his run for the next delivery,' he [Herbert Sutcliffe] once said.
at the end of the day when everything is taken into consideration. British informal
2013New Zealand Herald At the end of the day, for an event of this magnitude, we believe the pricing is in line with what we've seen and also in line with what's happened previously.
at the end of your tether having no patience, resources, or energy left to cope with something.
☞ A North American variant of this expression is at the end of your rope, and in both cases the image is that of a grazing animal tethered on a rope that allows it a certain range in which to move but which at full stretch prohibits further movement.
at a loose end: seeloose end.
at your wit's end: seewit.
the beginning of the end: seebeginning.
be on the receiving end: seereceiving.
be thrown in at the deep end: seedeep.
burn the candle at both ends: seeburn.
the business end: seebusiness.
come to a sticky end: seesticky.
the dirty end of the stick: seedirty.
end in tears have an unhappy or unpleasant outcome (often used as a warning). British
1992Iain BanksThe Crow Road Well, let them get married. The earlier the better; it would end in tears. Let them rush into it, let them repent at leisure.
end it all commit suicide.
2012Guardian When he subsequently loses the girl of his fancy, Jimmy can be seen speeding towards the edge of a cliff in a bid to end it all-only for an empty scooter to crash on to the rocks below.
the end justifies the means wrong or unfair methods may be used if the overall goal is good.
☞ The Roman poet Ovid expresses this concept in Heroides as exitus acta probat meaning 'the outcome justifies the actions'.
the end of civilization as we know it
1 the complete collapse of ordered society.
2 used to indicate that someone is being alarmist or is overreacting to a trivial inconvenience or blunder as if it were enormously significant and catastrophic.
☞ This expression is supposedly a cinematic cliché, and was actually used in the film Citizen Kane (1941): 'a project which would mean the end of civilization as we know it'.
2010Guardian For Labour to stagger on for another term would be good neither for the country nor for the party … Some Labour politicians privately acknowledge this … But publicly, they continue to insist that a victory for anyone else will be the end of civilisation as we know it.
the ends of the earth the most distant parts of the world.
the end of the road (or line) the point beyond which progress or survival cannot continue.
end of story used to emphasize that there is nothing more to add on the subject just mentioned. informal
☞ The phrase is sometimes abbreviated to simply end of.
2012The Age (Melbourne) The West Australian Commissioner for Corporate Affairs had asked whether it was a trade union, and had been told it wasn't a trade union. Which it wasn't. End of story.
2016Chris LangDark Heart It was Kashell, on his own. Personal revenge. End of.
the end of the world a complete disaster. informal
☞ This expression comes from the idea of the termination of life on earth as the ultimate catastrophe, but is often used with the negative as a reassurance that a mistake or setback is not that important.
2014Stuart Ian BurnsFeeling Listless I woke up from my hernia operation … realising that having a hernia wasn't the end of the world.
get (or have) your end away have sex. British vulgar slang
get the wrong end of the stick: seewrong.
go off the deep end: seedeep.
keep (or hold) your end up perform well in a difficult or competitive situation. informal
light at the end of the tunnel: seelight.
make (both) ends meet earn or have enough money to live on without getting into debt.
2014Daily Telegraph We wanted to use the banner to say that we are finding it hard to make ends meet after the demolition. We are like beggars, begging for food.
make someone's hair stand on end: seehair.
a means to an end: seemean.
never (or not) hear the end of something be continually reminded of an unpleasant topic or cause of annoyance.
2002Observer If it was Ireland or Wales we'd support them, but not England. It's a minority nations thing. If England was to win, we'd never hear the end of it.
no end to a great extent; very much. informal
1984James KelmanThe Busconductor Hines McCulloch gives him a go at the wheel at certain remote terminuses at specific times of the late night and early morning and his confidence grows no end.
no end of something a vast number or amount of something. informal
2014Independent Parkes and his co-writer, musician JS Rafaeli, have no end of yarns to tell.
odds and ends: seeodds.
play both ends against the middle keep your options open by supporting or favouring opposing sides.
the sharp end: seesharp.
the thick end of something: seethick.
the thin end of the wedge: seethin.
to the bitter end: seebitter.
a - to end all -s something so impressive of its kind that nothing that follows will have the same impact. informal
☞ The First World War was often referred to as the war to end all wars, from the mistaken belief that it would make all subsequent wars unnecessary.
1971Bessie HeadMaru It was a wedding to end all weddings.