to the backbone

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English

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Prepositional phrase

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to the backbone

  1. (idiomatic) Through and through; thoroughly; entirely.
    Synonyms: to the bone, to the core; see also Thesaurus:to the full
    • 1834, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Last Days of Pompeii:
      staunch to the backbone
    • 1894, Richard William Murray, South African Reminiscences, page 138:
      Sir Culling was an extreme Low Churchman, an Exeter Hallite to the backbone, and the head and front of the Platitudinarian Party.
    • 1907, Alfred Thayer Mahan, From Sail to Steam: Reflections of Naval Life:
      In temperament he was Dutch to the backbone — at least as we imagine Dutch.