beat all

Idioms  

1. Surpass anything, especially in a strange or amazing way, as in Adam and his cousin Eve eloped—doesn't that beat all! This phrase appears to have replaced beat the Dutch. It is often used in a negative construction, as in the example. [Slang; first half of 1800s] Also see to beat the band.

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Example Sentences

The earnings beat all boils down to the artificial-intelligence boom, which has driven up demand for data and hard drives.

From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026

Music is "fundamental" to his writing and he's also "looking for that four-four beat all the time while I'm typing".

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025

“I think this team can beat all MLS teams,” Puig said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2024

"Simply stated, while it beat all expectations, there was a great deal of expectations built into that above and beyond where the analysts were," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

From Reuters • Aug. 24, 2023

Charles told his sister Caroline that Lyell said “it beat all other nonsense he has ever read on the subject.”

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman