ˌall ˈover, advb. phr.
[See all C 9.]
1. a. Over the whole extent, in every part; over the whole body, in every limb.
| 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 115 The properties of God..to bee all ouer, and euerie where. 1633 Massinger New Way iv. iii, I am so full of joy,—nay, joy all over. 1710 Lond. Gaz. mmmmdccix/4 Stray'd..a Mare..black all over. 1720 Waterland 8 Serm. 101 It was confounding the Ideas of Creator and Creature, and was all over Contradictory, and Repugnant. 1815 H. Brougham Let. 14 July in T. Creevey Corr. (1903) I. xi. 243 Such an exertion..I already ache all over with it. 1852 E. Twisleton Let. 1 July (1928) i. 10 Both were thoroughly well-bred and polite—lady and gentleman all over. 1855 Thackeray Let. 28 Apr. (1946) III. 443 His house was all over pictures, drawings, casts, statues, and medals. a 1884 Mod. I ache all over. 1903 E. Butler Lett. fr. Holy Land 42 He and Isaac are all over pistols and weapons of various sorts. 1906 Harper's Mag. Oct. 764 They'd been hunting all over for her. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 761, I often felt I wanted to kiss him all over. |
b. As n. Everywhere. Chiefly U.S.
| 1904 Post Express (Rochester, N.Y.) 12 Sept. 3 News Flashes from All Over. 1911 N.Y. Even. Post 12 Jan. 16 They came from all over, and showed it. They were..from every section of the country. 1956 D. Jacobson Dance in Sun i. i. 7 There were cars, we saw from the registration plates, from all over. |
c. transf., to be all over (a person): to display great warmth or affection towards (one); to be all over oneself (see quot. 1925). colloq.
| 1912 E. Pugh Harry the Cockney x. 102 The worst of women is..they never leave you alone... They're all over you. 1923 S. Kaye-Smith End House Alard i. 23, I wouldn't come yesterday. I thought your family would be all over you, and I didn't like ―. 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 5 All over oneself, extremely pleased. Over confident; e.g. ‘He's all over himself because he's got leave.’ ‘He used to be all right, but now he's promoted he's all over himself.’ 1931 A. Christie Sittaford Mystery v. 43 ‘Were they friendly?’ ‘The lady was..All over him, as you might say.’ |
d. (See over adv. 2 b.)
2. Finished, brought to a close; done for. (Cf. Ger. vorüber.) it is all over with = L. actum est de.
| 1765 C. Brietzcke Diary 16 June in N. & Q. (1963) CCVIII. 307/1 Walkd in the Park with Mr. Stanhope who seems to think it is all over with Us. 1805 Nelson in Southey Life (1813) II. ix. 260, I am a dead man, Hardy..I am going fast:—it will be all over with me soon. 1845 Carlyle Cromwell's Lett. & Speeches I. i. i. 134 Sir Thomas [Steward] makes his will in this same month of January, leaving Oliver [Cromwell] his principal heir; and on the 30th it was all over. 1857 Ruskin Elem. Drawing iii. 216 If you once begin to..try this way and that with your colour, it is all over with it and with you. 1863 ‘Ouida’ Held in Bondage I. x. 223 We were profoundly thankful when it was all over and done with. 1963 ‘J. Le Carré’ Spy who came in fr. Cold xi. 101 And then I asked him, ‘Is this goodbye?’—whether it was all over. |
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▸ prep. N. Amer. colloq.to be all over——: to pursue the specified opportunity, course of action, etc., enthusiastically or aggressively; to have—— under control. Chiefly in to be all over it.
| 1987 Houston Chron. 22 June i. 10/1 If the vice president was being unfairly subjected to what..others in this county have been subjected to in Pinewood Village, they’d be all over it. 1987 Adweek (Nexis) 3 Aug. A salesman runs by the office and throws in a Cabbage Patch Kids doll attired in a tiny neoprene wet suit... ‘I'm tellin' ya, all we've got to do is make up some of these, make a surfboard, and Coleco will be all over it.’ 2001 Chron. Higher Educ. (Electronic ed.) 3 Aug. b5 Q: Mr. Arbuthnot, since your last testimony, have you continued to follow the world of cliches? A: I'm all over it, 24/7. 2003 M. Mitchell Latest Bombshell xi. 217 John Laures has been all over this story, investigating it for months now. |