whole ball of wax
Everything at once
The whole ball of wax is everything—the entirety of something, all its parts taken together.
It's interchangeable with "the whole nine yards" or "the whole shebang": We're selling the house, the furniture, the whole ball of wax.
The phrase often emphasizes that nothing is excluded from what's being discussed.
The complete set
- totalityComplete aggregate amount
- completeLacking nothing, fully done
- all-inclusiveCovering every element
- comprehensiveIncluding all elements
aggregate · sum · fullness · unity · all-encompassing · entire · package · bundle
Romantic entanglement outside commitment
- matterSpace-occupying substance with mass
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
- dealAgreement or distribution
- thingUnspecified entity or matter
scenario · circumstances · setup · arrangement · operation · undertaking · enterprise · project
everything
The complete set
- totalityComplete aggregate amount
- completeLacking nothing, fully done
- all-inclusiveCovering every element
comprehensive · aggregate · sum · fullness · unity · all-encompassing · entire · package · bundle · shebang
affair
Romantic entanglement outside commitment
- matterSpace-occupying substance with mass
- businessCommercial activity or occupation
- dealAgreement or distribution
thing · scenario · circumstances · setup · arrangement · operation · undertaking · enterprise · project · concern
- Mangled Idiomsrocket surgery, for all intensive purposes
whole ball of waxnothing
Not any thing
bare minimum · select few · tip of the iceberg · bare bones · skeleton
whole ball of waxodds and ends
Miscellaneous small items
bits and pieces · scraps · dribs and drabs · scattered pieces · loose ends
whole, ball, wholly, wholeness, wholesome, balls, balled, balling, waxing