Meaning
Everything involved in a matter: the complete collection, arrangement, business, or set of related concerns. Informal and sometimes slightly old-fashioned. It may mean either every component or the entire complicated affair. Regional use: American English.
Origin
American 'ball of wax' meant a whole concern, affair, or complicated situation by the 19th century, and the intensified form 'the whole ball of wax' became common during the 20th. Its ultimate metaphor is unresolved. Frequently repeated explanations involving Madame Tussauds, a 1620 inheritance divided with wax balls, typesetters, or shoemakers lack a documented chain to the idiom. The responsible conclusion is that print establishes its American development and meaning, but not one picturesque trade or anecdote as the source.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- The entire ball of wax
- Whole ball of wax
Usage Examples
- The buyer wanted the workshop, the tools, the designs, and the whole ball of wax.
- Once tax and insurance were included, the whole ball of wax cost far more than expected.
- She handed the archive the letters, photographs, notebooks, and the entire ball of wax.