go the whole hog
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go the whole hog
- /ˈɡəʊ ðə həʊl ˈhɒɡ/ UK
- /ˈɡoʊ ðə hoʊl ˈhɔɡ/ US
- /-ˈhɑɡ/ US, cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒɡ
Where it comes from
Origin uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested:
* A reference to using the whole of a hog’s carcass for food, leather, etc., without wasting any part; or specifically to a poem by the English poet William Cowper (1731–1800), “The Love of the World Reproved” (published 1782) in which uncertainty among Muslims about which parts of a hog are permitted as food leads to the whole animal being eaten.
* A reference to hog (“(Ireland, New Zealand, UK, historical, slang) shilling; (US, obsolete, rare) ten-cent coin, dime”), possibly in the context of spending the entire sum of money.
verb goes the whole hog · going the whole hog · went the whole hog · gone the whole hog · go whole hog
-
To do something as completely or entirely as possible; to hold back or reserve nothing.
If you can afford a new computer, you might as well go the whole hog and get it custom built.
Similar: go all out, go ham, go the entire animal, pull out all the stops
Talk about this word "go the whole hog." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/go%20the%20whole%20hog. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. go the whole hog. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/go%20the%20whole%20hog "go the whole hog." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/go%20the%20whole%20hog.Cite this
@misc{go_the_whole_hog_2026,
title = {go the whole hog},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/go%20the%20whole%20hog},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
