"Be-all and end-all"?

Asked Apr 03 '22 at 12:59

Active Apr 03 '22 at 13:06

Viewed 48 times

There is the saying "Be-all and end-all", meaning a fundamental property of something.

I noticed it is hard to pronounce because "and" and "end" sound the same.

Is one "and/end" omitted in pronunciation, i.e., "Be-all and end-all" => "Be-all end-all"?

edited Apr 03 '22 at 13:06

Justin

10,186

asked Apr 03 '22 at 12:59

Per Bock

3

"and" and "end" sound the same - they don't sound the same in my part of the world. – KillingTime Apr 03 '22 at 13:39
5

If you say Be-all n end-all, you'll be good to go. – Yosef Baskin Apr 03 '22 at 13:52
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In fact, you'll sometimes see 'n' written for and in some common expressions to reflect pronunciation, as in this recipe for Oven Fish ‘n’ Chips. I'm wondering whether it should have two apostrophes, and not look like open and close quotes, although this editor won't let me type it that way. – DjinTonic Apr 03 '22 at 15:12
@DjinTonic Forecastle may be spelled forecastle, fo'c's'le or fo'c'sle (Wikipedia etc). Blue Magister at What rules determine the apostrophe placement in ham n eggs and similar expressions? posted a magisterial answer. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 03 '22 at 15:59
@EdwinAshworth I wasn't referring to using one or two apostrophes, but rather using a curved open quote mark for the first because of software limitations. // BTW maitre d' is a rare case where a dictionary entry ends with an apostrophe. – DjinTonic Apr 03 '22 at 16:25
@DjinTonic Yes; I was broadening to 'one or two apostrophes ( ... in addition to a mandatory orthographic style in either case)'? – Edwin Ashworth Apr 03 '22 at 18:31
Want pronunciation, consult a dictionary, and if the first doesn't have it, try another. Collins provides pronunciation info which suggests /ənd/ for the middle word; there are also recordings. – Stuart F Apr 04 '22 at 09:42
I’m voting to close this question because it is based on an individual difficulty that is unlikely to have a general application. – Greybeard May 18 '23 at 10:05

"Be-all and end-all"?

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