all Idioms

(English Idioms & Sayings)

all along

- all the time

I knew all along that my friend would not get the promotion.

all at once

suddenly, without warning
All at once the fire alarm rang and we had to leave the building

all day long

- the whole day

She has been sitting and waiting for the mail to arrive all day long.

all ears

- to be eager to listen to someone

"I`m all ears, please tell me about the party."

all for (someone or something)

- to be very much in favor of someone or something

The woman is all for the manager and she never criticizes her.

all in

- to be tired, to be exhausted

I am all in and will go to bed early tonight.

all in a day's work

- to be part of what is expected

It was all in a day's work when the firefighters rescued the cat.

all in all

- in summary, after considering everything

We had a few problems but all in all the meeting was successful.

all in one piece

- safely, without damage

When we moved, our furniture arrived all in one piece.

all manner of (someone or something)

- all types of people or things

There were all manner of people at the party.

all night long

- throughout the whole night

We could hear the people next door talking all night long.

all of a sudden

- suddenly, without advance warning

All of a sudden it became cloudy and began to rain.

all-out-effort

- a very good and thorough effort

We made an all-out-effort to finish our work.

all over but the shouting

- to be decided and finished

It was all over but the shouting for the football fans when their team moved to another city.

all over the place

- everywhere

We travelled all over the place on our holiday.

all right

- okay, satisfactory

She said that it would be all right for me to bring my friend to the party.

all set

- to be ready to begin, to be okay

Everything was all set when the meeting began.

all sweetness and light

- to be very sweet, to be innocent and helpful

The girl is all sweetness and light whenever she does something bad.

all systems go

- everything is ready (originally used when a rocket was launched)

It was all systems go so we began the installation of the new computer system.

all talk (and no action)

- to talk about doing something but never really do it

Our boss was all talk and no action and nothing new was ever done in our department.

all the rage

- to be in current fashion

The new sneakers were all the rage during the summer.

all the time

- continually

My sister asks for money all the time but I do not like to give it to her.

all thumbs

- to have difficulty fixing things or working with one`s hands, to be clumsy

My friend is all thumbs when fixing things around his house.

all to the good

- for the best, for one's benefit

It was all to the good that my sister left her job.

all told

- including everything/everyone, totaled up

All told, there were at least twelve candidates for the job.

Learning English through Idioms and Sayings