go whole hog

go whole hog idiom
Also, go the limit. Do something completely or thoroughly; proceed as far as possible. For example, Instead of just painting the room, why not go whole hog and redecorate it completely? or Let's go the limit and dig up the entire garden. Although the precise source of whole hog is disputed, this colloquialism was first recorded in 1828 (in Japhet by Frederick Marryat) as go the whole hog. Today the article is usually omitted. Go the limit, also a colloquialism, dates from the mid-1900s. Also see all out.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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