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to beat the band



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Idioms and Phrases

Also, to beat all . To the greatest possible degree. For example, The baby was crying to beat the band , or The wind is blowing to beat the band , or John is dressed up to beat all . This idiom uses beat in the sense of “surpass.” The first term may, according to one theory, allude to a desire to arrive before the musicians who led a parade, so as to see the entire event. Another theory holds that it means “make more noise than (and thereby beat) a loud band.” [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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tobeTo be, or not to be