"Pull Out All the Stops" Idiom Meaning, Origin & History | Superduper English Idioms
Channel: Superduper English Idioms
Date: 21/09/2020

0:00 - How to Say, “Pull out all the stops.”
0:21 - Examples of “Pull out all the stops.”
1:08 - Meaning of “Pull out all the stops.”
1:30 - Origin of “Pull out all the stops.”
4:17 - More Examples of “Pull out all the stops.”
5:10 - Conclusion

“Pull out all the stops.”

You might have heard someone say that a person or an organization, “pulled out all the stops,” meaning that they went to great lengths to achieve something.

“Wow, your wedding is fantastic! You guys really pulled out all the stops,” guests to your friend’s lavish wedding might say.

Maybe you’re the manager of a beach resort and are talking to a new employee, “We’re so popular because we pull out all the stops and make each guest feel special.”

“This restaurant’s food is so fancy, they really pull out all the stops,” you might say to a friend during dinner at the most popular restaurant in the city.

As you can see, the idiom, “pull out all the stops,” means that no effort was spared, every detail was taken care of, all hands were on deck, they gave it their all.

The origin of “pull out all the stops” comes from terminology related to the musical instrument, the pipe organ.

The pipe organ originates in Greece around the 3rd century BCE (before the common era) and is one of the oldest instruments still used in European classical music.

An organ stop, or simply a “stop”, is an element of organs that allow musicians to turn off or stop pressurized air or “wind” from entering certain pipes…

… and for most performances on the organ, some stops are used. On special occasions, however, the musician “pulls out all the stops”, allowing “wind” to reach all pipes and for the full range of sound to be utilized.

It may be tempting to always “pull out all the stops,” and to put your best foot forward, give it your utmost, for every endeavour, but in reality this is not feasible.

Resources are limited - including time, money, energy and attention - so it is often the case that we must carefully choose when to “pull out all the stops”.

Oftentimes, things that we don’t “pull out all the stops” for, turn out to be the most valuable, most rewarding, most memorable.

Suppose you “pull out all the stops” in your pursuit of becoming an amazing golfer; you buy all the best gear, you pour money into lessons and you spend a lot of time practicing…

… but a year later, you find that you’re not all that great at golf and ironically, you’re now amazing at badminton, which you simply played in the backyard with the kids.

“We should pull out all the stops to make grandma and grandpa’s visit here a memorable one,” you might be telling your family a week before your parents’ flight over.

Perhaps you’re preparing dinner for your sister-in-law’s visit and your partner says, “You don’t have to pull out all the stops, she’ll eat anything!”

“Healthcare professionals across the country have pulled out all the stops during this pandemic and I would like to thank them,” your country’s prime minister might say during a speech.

As you can see, if you go all out, put in full effort, give it your best shot, try your darndest, go to great lengths, consider every detail, you are “pulling out all the stops”.

#superduperenglishidioms #englishidioms #idioms #proverbs