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

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

The cell line, called "HeLa" after the patient's first and last name, was sent to research labs around the world.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

An example of Jeff Koons’s fluorescent-lighted vacuum cleaners from his “The New” series—the first and last interesting work he made—seems almost down-to-earth next to his other glittering, stainless-steel baubles here.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

He painted "California" in early 1961, shortly before he made his first and last trip to the United States for his debut exhibitions across the Atlantic, in New York and Los Angeles, it said.

From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025

My noseprint, like your fingerprint, is the first and last and only one.

From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate