whole megillah

1. 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

“You have to do the whole megillah” when the crisis is as deep as it was, Rice said, because no single strategy can be effective.

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

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"It's a long play and in the limited run we're selling in New York you have to see the whole megillah. We have a guaranteed young audience. The problem is the cost of tickets, but I'm reassured that if you put any effort into it you can find a way not to pay a horrible amount of money."

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While the other offers snacky highlights from the Public Kitchen menu, this one serves the whole megillah.

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But not perfectly, which is why the whole megillah is under constant assessment and adjustment.

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