first and last

Idioms  

1. Under all circumstances, always, as in She was an artist first and last. (For a synonym, see above all.) This expression, first recorded in 1589, should not be confused with the similar-sounding from first to last, which means “from start to finish” or “throughout,” as in We cheered them on from first to last.

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Example Sentences

It was the first and last time Copi ever spoke to Davis, but he would go on to photograph him eight times in total.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the Australian-Palestinian writer whose disinvitation from a major literature festival in Adelaide sparked an uproar in January, said her upcoming book, Discipline, would be her "first and last book with UQP".

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Historic freezes in 1894 and 1895 nearly eradicated the industry, its first and last real brush with old-world calamity.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

Only one name on the list is redacted and the rest of the first and last names are public.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 1, 2026

The first and last syllables are stressed, as in the phrase “Once in a way.”

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams