English Reference
Idiom idiom

smoke the whole pack


To be made to go all in on something one only wanted a lesser amount of.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

I only wanted one slice, but they made me smoke the whole pack.

CONTEXTUAL

I asked for a small sample, but the pushy salesman insisted I smoke the whole pack.

COMPLEX

Although he initially sought only a minor commitment, the aggressive terms of the contract forced him to smoke the whole pack.


From an old punishment in which a child caught smoking a single cigarette was compelled by an adult to smoke the entire pack. The practice was intended to create a physical aversion to tobacco so that the child would never wish to smoke again.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    end in smoke

    To be destroyed or ruined; to go up in smoke.

  2. 02

    go the whole hog

    To do something as completely or entirely as possible; to hold back or reserve nothing.

  3. 03

    go up in smoke

    To be completely ruined, devastated, or reduced to nothingness.

  4. 04

    have the whole bakery

    To have large, callipygian buttocks; to be caked up.

  5. 05

    holy smoke

    An expression of astonishment.

  6. 06

    pack fudge

    To perform anal sex.

  7. 07

    pack heat

    To carry one or more handguns on one's person, especially in a concealed manner.

  8. 08

    pack in

    To give up, to quit.

Last updated August 10, 2026