"Lock, Stock and Barrel" | What Does This Idiom Mean? • 7ESL

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You may be familiar with the idiomatic term ‘lock, stock and barrel.’ But what does this term mean? We will take a look at the meaning of the phrase as well as looking at how we can use it in a conversation. We will also look at where the term came from in the first place.

Lock, Stock and Barrel

“Lock, Stock and Barrel” Meaning

When you hear someone say ‘lock, stock and barrel’ they are making a reference to everything in a certain situation. The term means ‘the whole lot.‘

Origin of this idiom

The phrase ‘lock, stock and barrel’ originally came from the components of a musket, the lock, the stock and the barrel. When all of these things were present, the musket was complete.

“Lock, Stock and Barrel” Examples

Examples in Statements

This is a statement made by a student to his teacher.

‘I have written my essay and included all you asked for lock, stock and barrel.’

This statement is made by an advertisement for an event.

‘If you want to see something that has everything to do with farming, we have it all here, lock stock and barrel.’

Other examples:

We had to move our things lock, stock and barrel to the other side of the country.
He sold the business lock, stock and barrel.
They dug up their New Jersey garden and moved it lock, stock and barrel back home.

Conversation Examples

The term ‘lock stock and barrel’ may be heard in many different conversations. Here are some examples of how it might look.

The first is a conversation between two friends.

Person 1: “Did you bring all the camping equipment that I asked you for?”
Person 2: “It is all in this bag, lock stock and barrel.’

This is a conversation which is taking place between two relatives.

Person 1: “If we are going to throw this party we are going to need a lot of things.”
Person 2: “What will we need?”
Person 1: “Decorations, drinks, food, costumes and music.”
Person 2: “I have all of those lock stock and barrel in my garage.”

Other Ways to Say the Phrase

There are other ways in which you can say the term ‘lock stock and barrel’ using different wording.

Here are some examples of other things you could say.

The works
Whole enchilada

Liam Daniel

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