ENGLISH
REFERENCE

whole shebang

idiom
Meaning

Everything; the entire thing.


Origin

Fixed expression from shebang, first attested in the United States from the early 1860s, from which time it has increasingly dominated the uses of "shebang" itself.

Examples
SIMPLE

I want the whole shebang for my birthday party.

CONTEXTUAL

We bought the house, the furniture, and the garden tools—the whole shebang.

COMPLEX

After the merger, the new owners insisted on auditing the entire company, including the accounts, the staff, and the whole shebang.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    go the whole hog

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

  2. 02

    have the whole bakery

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

  3. 03

    smoke the whole pack

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

  4. 04

    the whole world and his dog

    Everybody; too many people; a huge crowd.

  5. 05

    whole ball of wax

    The entire or overall plan, concept or action.

  6. 06

    whole box of tricks

    Everything and anything associated with a certain enterprise.

  7. 07

    whole cloth

    in full extent, wholesale, entirely, without changes or additions

  8. 08

    whole enchilada

    All of something or a group of related things taken in totality.

Last updated April 17, 2026