whole shebang

Definition

Everything; the entire thing.

Etymology

Fixed expression from shebang, first attested in the United States from the early 1860s, from which time it has increasingly dominated uses of "shebang" itself.

Example Sentences

• "The festival had balloons, flowers, fireworks, performers, and the whole shebang."
• "On the third the whole "chebang" was removed [...]"
• "I am growing more and more sick of factions, gossip, jealousies, recriminations, excoriations and the whole literary shee-bang."