kit and caboodle

5 7.7

All the things and people in a group or place

idiom
/kɪt ənd kəˈbuːdəl/

Informal

: todo el kit y caboodle

He decided to sell the house along with the whole kit and caboodle inside it.
the whole kit and caboodle

This might be their, you know, kit and caboodle.

Examples

The whole kit and caboodle.

Beat the Devil (1953)
Too tempting for another firm to walk away with the whole kit and caboodle.

Fiction book (1997)
If you don't want to make a lunch box, you could buy the whole kit and caboodle.

Blog text (2)
I had to piece together the puzzle with bits of information from a variety of websites to get the whole kit and caboodle to work.

Blog text (33)
She'd sold Marlcrest—the whole kit and caboodle—to a developer who planned to bulldoze the house, clear the land, and build a subdivision there.

Fiction book (1996)
You can have the car, the furniture, and the whole kit and caboodle for a great price.
When she moved, she packed up the whole kit and caboodle into boxes.

Synonyms

the works

vskit and caboodle

Informal

51 3.8

Everything extra you can have, like extra burger toppings or a full spa service

is the plain idiom for all items without stressing extras

whole shebang

vskit and caboodle

Informal

13 8.0

Everything that is part of something

is the same complete idea but in the base idiomatic form

caboodle

vskit and caboodle

Informal

8 8.5

All the things or people together as a group

is the multiword expression emphasizing the entire lot

whole kit

vskit and caboodle

Informal

8 5.2

All the things you need for an activity, like tools and supplies

is the fuller idiom covering the entire collection rather than a part

the whole enchilada

vskit and caboodle

Informal

7 7.0

Everything included in a deal or plan

is the standard idiom for the same complete lot

whole works

vskit and caboodle

Informal

6 3.9

Everything included, for example all parts or options

is the everyday idiom for the whole set without extras focus

full treatment

vskit and caboodle

5 3.6

All the extra services and options included with a product or service

is the general idiom for everything rather than a service package

whole caboodle

vskit and caboodle

Informal

5 7.7

All the things or people involved

is a multiword expression rather than the simple noun form

whole kit and caboodle

vskit and caboodle

Informal

4 6.7

All the things and people connected with something

is the original informal idiom meaning the entire lot

schmear

vskit and caboodle

Informal

1 9.9

A complete set of related things included together

is the broader idiomatic phrase for the whole rather than a casual term

whole kit and boodle

vskit and caboodle

Informal

6.7

All the things in a group or set

is the original informal idiom rather than that variant

kit and boodle

vskit and caboodle

Informal

9.3

All the things and people together

is the fuller multiword expression rather than the shortened form

Surface Forms

kit and caboodle singular

kits and caboodles plural

Morphology

kit + and + caboodle

Both 'kit' and 'caboodle' independently denote a set or complete collection, so the coordinated phrase 'kit and caboodle' transparently signals 'the whole lot' for someone who knows those words. This kind of paired-synonym construction to indicate entirety is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner familiar with the constituents can reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase kit and caboodle may come from old words for a person's tools and the whole bundle of their things. Imagine a soldier carrying his kit, his gear, and his full caboodle, the whole bundle, so the phrase came to mean 'everything'.