whole megillah

Idioms

Also, whole schmeer. Everything, every aspect or element, as in The accountant went through the whole megillah all over again, or Her divorce lawyer took him for the house, the car, the whole schmeer. The first term alludes to the Megillah, five books of the Bible read on certain Jewish feast days and considered by some to be very long and tedious. Schmeer is Yiddish for “smear” or “smudge.” [Slang; second half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

No, wait, he wants to buy the whole megillah!

From The Verge • Apr. 16, 2022

Pride’s sisters and her father testified for the prosecution, and the whole megillah has estranged Pride and Warren from the rest of their family.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2015

At trial, and then in defending their victory on appeal, they went for the whole megillah: a broad ruling that marriage is a fundamental constitutional right for everyone, full stop, right now.

From Slate • Sep. 20, 2012

Worldwide domination was in the offing — CDs, DVDs, movies, road companies, the whole megillah.

From New York Times • Apr. 23, 2010

But who invented stars, I pray, And got the whole megillah moving?

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023