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when all's said and done

when all's said and done idiom

Also, after all is said and done. In the end, nevertheless, as in When all's said and done, the doctors did what they could for Gordon, but he was too ill to survive. This term was first recorded in 1560.

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.