lock, stock, and barrel

Cultural  

1. The whole of anything: “Our new manager wants to reorganize the entire operation, lock, stock, and barrel.” The lock, stock, and barrel are the three parts of a rifle.

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lock, stock, and barrel Idioms  

1. The entirety; all of something. For example, Jean moved out of the house, lock, stock, and barrel. This expression alludes to the three elements of a firearm—the lock or firing mechanism, the stock or handle, and the barrel or tube. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lock, stock, and barrel

“The larger schools in the larger towns and cities just bought that lock, stock and barrel, and they ended their programs.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 12, 2024

Kennedy’s previous claims otherwise were clearly a total fiction that the court bought lock, stock, and barrel.

From Slate ● Sep. 7, 2023

Ducey's team took it over lock, stock and barrel.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2021

It’s the feeling that next time we’ll catch them acting, next time we’ll see the artifice and the technique rather than being transported lock, stock and barrel into the psyche of the person they’ve created.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2020

“When the carpetbaggers commenced takin’ over, them Stokeses built a rock wall around the fam’ly graveyard and took off for Brazil, lock, stock, and barrel.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

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Related Words

• all-inclusive
• broad
• complete
• encyclopedic
• exhaustive
• extensive
• far-reaching
• full
• global
• overall
• sweeping
• thorough

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