Meaning
To an extreme or remarkable degree. Regional, informal, and somewhat old-fashioned Regional use: United States, now especially associated with Southern and Appalachian speech.
Origin
A colloquial intensifier found in American regional writing by the mid-19th century. Forms without all, such as as get-out, are recorded earlier, while Mark Twain used like all git-out in 1884. Merriam-Webster dates all get-out to 1849, and DARE evidence places related forms in the 1830s and 1840s. How get-out acquired the sense of an utmost degree is not satisfactorily explained.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- all git-out
- as all get-out
- as get-out
- than all get-out
Usage Examples
- The attic was dusty as all get-out, but the old maps were intact.
- Once the gate opened, those children ran like all get-out.