All’s Blue.—See Blue.
All Serene! intj. (popular).—All right. All’s well! This phrase is
thought to be of Spanish origin, and to be derived from the word serena
a countersign used by sentinels in Cuba. The night watchmen in Spain
likewise end their proclamation of the hour by ‘é sereno!’ It is also
equivalent to O.K., and a few years since was the burden of one of the
senseless street cries, which, every now and again, have a vogue in
large cities. Most of these catches originate in music-hall songs. All
serene, however, was vulgarly colloquial long before the period in
question, as will be seen by the following example:
1857. A. Trollope, Three Clerks, ch. xlv. ‘You’re all serene, then,
Mr. Snape,’ said Charley; ‘you’re in the right bon.’
All Smoke, Gammon and Pickles.—See Smoke.
All Sorts, subs. (common).—Explained by quotation.—See All nations.
1859. Sala, Gaslight and Daylight, ch. vi. A counter perforated in
elaborately-pricked patterns, like a convivial shroud, apparently
for ornament, but really for the purpose of allowing the drainings,
overflowings, and out-spillings of the gin-glasses to drop through,
which, being collected with sundry washings, and a dash, perhaps,
of fresh material, is, by the thrifty landlord, dispensed to his
customers under the title Of all sorts.
All Sorts of, adj. (American).—First rate; excellent. A phrase very
common in the South and West, and used in many different ways. It
carries with it the idea of smartness and chic, as, e.g., when applied
to a woman, a horse, or a building.
Allspice, subs. (popular).—A nickname for a grocer; the derivation is
obvious.
All’s Quiet on the Potomac, phr. (American).—A period of undisturbed
rest, quiet enjoyment, or peaceful possession; a phrase dating from the
Civil War, when its frequent repetition in the bulletins of the War
Secretary made it familiar to the public, who quickly appropriated it
in a metaphorical sense. It has since formed the refrain of many a
song.
1862. The Picket Guard.
All quiet along the Potomac, they say,
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot on his beat as he walks to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in a thicket.
All T. H., adv. phr. (tailors cutters’).—Said in praise or approval; a
tailor’s equivalent of a 1; all right; all there—of which last it is
possibly an abbreviated form.
All the Caboose, adv. phr.—See Caboose.
All the Go, adv. phr. (common).—One of the innumerable superlatives of
work-a-day English; quite up to the mark; in full demand; ‘no
deception, gents!’—See Go.
All There, adv. phr. (popular).—Up to the mark; first-rate; ready for
any emergency; a phrase of general satisfaction and approval; also, in
one’s element.
1877. Five Years’ Penal Servitude, ch. iii., p. 220. ‘He stayed in
a place doing the grand and sucking the flats till the folks began
to smoke him as not all there.’
1880. Punch, Aug. 7, p. 59. All there! Clerk (who has called to see
the gas-meter). ‘Is yours a wet, or a dry meter, madam?’ Young Wife
(who does not like to show ignorance). ‘Well, it is rather damp,
I’m afraid!’
1883. James Payn, Thicker than Water, ch. xx. It was his excusable
boast, though expressed in somewhat vulgar language, that when
anything was wanted he was ‘all there.’
All the Shoot.—Equivalent to ‘the whole boiling’ (q.v.).
All the Way Down, adv. phr. (popular).—Synonymous with complete
adaptability to the end in view; sometimes varied by ‘up to the
knocker,’ or ‘up to the nines.’
All to His Own Cheek.—See Cheek.
All to Pieces, adverbial phr. (common).—1. [Cf. Go to pieces.] A
superlative of all work. To go all to pieces is to collapse utterly; to
be altogether ruined; to be in a state of utter collapse.
1667. Pepys, Diary, Aug. 29. I find by all hands that the Court is
at this day all to pieces, every man of a faction of one sort or
other.
1811. Jane Austen, Sense and S., ch. xxx. ‘Fifty thousand pounds!
and by all accounts it won’t come before its wanted; for they say
he is all to pieces. No wonder! dashing about with his curricle and
hunters!’
1882. Punch, LXXXII., 185, 2. ‘Ah Jerry, we might as well go back
to the Shades as be among such a shady crowd.’ Young Bob Logic
seemed rather nettled at this speech of the Corinthian’s, and said,
‘Well, don’t you know you can’t expect a fellow to look very bright
till he’s had an S. and B., or two and a Kümmel? These pals will be
all right after dinner.’ ‘Let us hope they will,’ said the
Corinthian, ‘for they look all to pieces now.’
2. When a woman is confined she is said to go all to pieces; variants
being to explode; to bust up.