BrE/AmE Differences B

[Itasan]

the whole ball of wax
This seems to be AmE meaning 'everything'. Is it not used in BrE?
Thank you.

[tigertiger]

the whole ball of wax
This seems to be AmE meaning 'everything'. Is it not used in BrE?
Thank you.

Never heard it till I went to US and was confused.

One BrE equivalent, 'the whole kit and caboodle'

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_boar ... s/329.html
"Kit and caboodle" (which is the most common form) dates back to the mid-eighteenth century and appeared first in England. There are a number of variants, including "kit and kerboodle" and "kit and boodle." The "kit" part of the phrase is of fairly straightforward origin, "kit" being an 18th century English slang term for "outfit" or "collection," as in a soldier's "kit bag," which contained all his worldly possessions. "Kit" may have come from "kith," meaning "estate," found today in the phrase "kith and kin."

"Caboodle" is a tougher nut to crack. As usual, there are a number of theories, the most likely of which traces "boodle" back to the Dutch word "boedel," meaning "property." Lawyers take note: "boodle" actually was a respectable word in its own right (meaning "estate") in the 17th and 18th centuries, and was even used in legal documents. But why "caboodle" or "kerboodle"? The "ca" and "ker" may be related to the intensive German prefix "ge," giving the sense "the whole boodle." Put it all together and you get "kit and caboodle," meaning "everything and all of everything," down to the last kitten.

[Itasan]

[Never heard it till I went to US and was confused.
One BrE equivalent, 'the whole kit and caboodle'
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_boar ... s/329.html]

Wow! Great information! Thank you very much, tigertiger, for the valuable info as always.

[Andrew Patterson]

Tiger wrote:

One BrE equivalent, 'the whole kit and caboodle'

"The whole caboodle" is much more common where I come from (I hadn't heard of kit and...)

When I did a search, I got 64,400 hits for "the whole caboodle" and 33,500 hits for "the whole kit and caboodle," so it can't be that rare.

[Lorikeet]

I've only heard "the whole kit and caboodle" but I would count it as American English too. (That's where I heard it! )

[gavb]

I've only heard "the whole kit and caboodle" but I would count it as American English too. (That's where I heard it! )

Lived in the UK for 46 years now and I've never heard that said once ...

Gavb

________________________________________
UK Internet Casinos

[tigertiger]

Lived in the UK for 46 years now and I've never heard that said once ...

quote]

Perhaps that is the beauty of customary expressions.
They are not used universally.
I know that some phrases are more common in some regions of a country than other areas of the same country.
The usage and meanings are also not always satndardised, they obey the local 'custom', and these vary.

But this could turn into a discussion on colloqial English, not Business English (as is the forum).

[KlaKla]

Yeah, i absolutely agree with you