from stem to stern
Every single part
From stem to stern means completely, thoroughly, or from one end to the other.
The phrase comes from nautical terminology—the stem is a ship's bow, the stern its rear—so stem to stern covers the entire vessel.
Extended to general use, it describes comprehensive coverage or examination: We searched the house from stem to stern, The committee reviewed the proposal from stem to stern.
- entireLacking no part
- all the wayTo the full extent
- from head to toeEncompassing one's entire body
- top to bottomCovering the whole extent
- keelHull's structural base
rudder · soup to nuts · lock stock and barrel · whole · rigging · mast · exhaustive · bow · deck · A to Z · starboard · comprehensive · wall-to-wall · full-scale · thoroughgoing · all-encompassing · end to end · inside and out