whole hog

American  

[hohl hawg, hog] / ˈhoʊl ˈhɔg, ˈhɒg /

noun

1. the furthest extent; everything.

   With them it was whole hog or nothing.

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adjective

1. Usually whole-hog complete and thorough; wholehearted.

   Any whole-hog endorsement of the doctrine would leave its proponent overexposed to counterarguments.

adverb

1. completely; wholeheartedly.

   I've long hated this idea that you can't just jump whole hog into radical feminism.

idioms

1. go the whole hog, to do something to the fullest extent; proceed with or indulge in something completely and unreservedly: Also go whole hog

   The townspeople went the whole hog for the celebration.

whole hog British  

noun

1. slang the whole or total extent (esp in the phrase go the whole hog )

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whole hog More Idioms  

1. see go whole hog.

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Etymology

Origin of whole hog

An Americanism dating back to 1825–30

Example Sentences

One of the first was going whole hog into native plants without understanding anything about them.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024

With three young kids and soaring meat costs, Logan Wagoner decided it was time to go whole hog.

From Washington Post • Aug. 27, 2022

The day includes a tour of the farm and a discussion of raising pastured pigs; butchering a whole hog and talking about various muscles and cooking applications; and making fresh sausage to take home.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2022

And, if you really want to go the whole hog, you can uninstall it.

From The Verge • Sep. 23, 2021

Let’s go whole hog and say the Southern Pacific will charge three-fifty to carry it.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck