first and last
Beginning and ending
First and last emphasizes completeness or finality—something considered in its entirety, from beginning to end.
She was, first and last, a teacher.
The phrase often signals that despite complications or secondary concerns, one essential identity or truth remains: He was first and last a family man, whatever his professional ambitions.
- startTo set going
- finishBring to completion
- from start to finishEntire duration covered
- alphaFirst Greek letter
- bookendsShelf supports for volumes
end · beginning and end · beginning · full circle · dawn · ultimate · line · ouroboros · origin · omega · A-to-Z · top to bottom · soup to nuts · cradle to grave · genesis · finale · terminus · culmination
first and lastmiddle
Central point or position
intermediate · in between · interior · central · median
first and lastall
The complete quantity
every one · each and every · the whole lot · none · particularly
last, first, foremost, first-rate, firstly, first-class, firstborn, firsts, first-time