from aardvark to zymurgy
English
editEtymology
editIn reference to the first and last major words in many English dictionaries.
Prepositional phrase
edit- (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[.]