go the whole hog
English
Etymology
Likely a folk term from the practice of livestock and butchery; “whole hog” or (“snout to tail”) refers to letting no portion of the animal carcass go to waste. For example, skin is tanned for leather, sweetbreads are harvested, and commonly cast off pieces such as hooves are pickled.
The term was likely first recorded in Cowper’s poem “The love of the world reproved” (1779). A poem teasing Muslims about suggested ambiguity over their religious prohibition on eating pork. By 1830 the phrase had become popular across America being used in newspapers, and political campaigns. At this time it migrated across to Britain where the phrase was adopted[1].
Pronunciation
Audio (AU): (file)
Verb
- (idiomatic) To do something as entirely or completely as possible; to reserve or hold back nothing.
- If you can afford a new computer, you might as well go the whole hog and get it custom built.
Alternative forms
Synonyms
- (to do something unreservedly): go all out, pull out all the stops
See also
- all the way
- full throttle
- totus porcus
- whole hog
- for a list of "whole ___" terms that mean "everything / the whole thing", see the whole nine yards