from aardvark to zymurgy

English

Etymology

In reference to the first and last major words in many English dictionaries.

Prepositional phrase

from aardvark to zymurgy

1. (informal) Synonym of from A to Z: from the beginning to the end; covering everything comprehensively.
   • 1952, John David Marshall, editor, Books, Libraries, Librarians: Contributions to Library Literature, Shoe String Press, page 86:

     What a glorious prospect—to be alone on an island, with an opportunity to sit back against a banana tree, and read all the way from aardvark to zymurgy!

   • 1996, Chang-Rae Lee, Native Speaker‎^[1], Penguin, →ISBN:

     I read my entire children's encyclopedia, drilling from aardvark to zymurgy. I never made an error at shortstop.

   • 2002, Melvin A. Benarde, You've Been Had!:

     Researchers expect and anticipate that their work will be scrutinized by other scientists and whatever the object of study, from Aardvark to Zymurgy, it is certain to be researched by a plethora of investigators from Stockholm to Shanghai to San Francisco[.]

See also

• alpha and omega