be-all and end-all
6
7.6
- idiom
- Informal
:
lo más importante
- Clearly, time of possession is not the be-all-and-end-all, but it is more important for certain types of teams.
This intermediacy recognizes itself not as the be all and end all, but as a moment.
- This intermediacy recognizes itself not as the be all and end all, but as a moment.
- I think that love is kind of the be all and end all of being a human being.
- I love being famous, but it's not the be all and end all.
- Low carb can be a fantastic approach for some people, but it's not the be all and end all for everyone.
- I mean, Stalin believed that, you know, socialism was the be all and end all of, you know, human existence.
- But you just have to know that those arguments don't have to be the be all and end all.
- And, and I think what you're saying is so true that we sometimes think of meditation and prayer as as the be all and end all of our transformation.
- So even though, because when you've never had the money, it feels like the be all and end all.
- And I don't think it's what I see as the, the, you know, the be all and end all.
- So I'm, I'm interested in the warrior archetype, but not to the be all and end all of everything else.
- But it can't just be there all by itself as the be all and end all of human civilization, any more than the things in reason can.
Examples
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Low carb can be a fantastic approach for some people, but it's not the be all and end all for everyone.
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To my way of thinking, money isn't the be-all and end-all of our existence.
Blog text (23) -
I think that love is kind of the be all and end all of being a human being.
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Football was the be all and end all.
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Wind is only one part of the renewable solution, not the be-all and end-all.
Blog text (5) -
We don't want to allow one person's judgement to be the be all and end all of how the rest of us have to conduct our lives.
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However important, the guaranteed access to cheap Arab crude is not the be-all and end-all of American foreign policy.
Academic text (1994) -
New York may be a culinary mecca, but it's not the be-all and end-all of food talent.
Blog text (10) -
The problem arises when religion tries to assert itself as the be-all and end-all answer over science.
Blog text (14) -
Many people mistakenly believe that money is the be-all and end-all of happiness.
Synonyms
441
4.8
The central idea or most important part of something
9
8.8
The main reason a person or thing exists
2
6.8
The most important goal or purpose of something
1
1.0
All the things that matter most to a person
Antonyms
How Important
Surface Forms
Morphology
be-all + and + end-all
The phrase 'be-all and end-all' is an idiomatic, somewhat archaic compound whose sense 'the most important or ultimate factor' cannot be derived from the literal pieces 'be-all' and 'end-all' (neither of which functions as a productive, standalone lexical unit). A B1 learner who knows the simple words would not reliably infer the superlative/ultimate meaning from the parts, so this item is best treated as opaque.
Etymology
Be-all and end-all may come from the image of one thing that is both the be-all (the thing that gives 'being') and the end-all (the final 'aim'), so it means 'the most important thing'.