through and throughadv.prep.adj.n.
/ˌθruː (ə)n(d) ˈθruː/, U.S. /ˌθru ən ˈθru/ A. adv.
1.
a. All the way through from one side to the other, or from beginning to end; right through. Also: repeatedly through. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [adverb] > through > right through
throughoutOE
throughOE
through and throughc1225
thorough and thoroughc1300
out-througha1325
thoroughlya1500
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > thoroughly > from beginning to end or through and through
to the boneOE
through and throughc1225
out and outc1300
from top to tail1303
out and inc1390
(from) head to heel (also heels)c1400
(from) head to foot (also feet)c1425
from top to (into, unto) toec1425
to the skin1526
to one's (also the) finger (also fingers') ends1530
from first to last1536
up and down1542
whole out1562
to the pith1587
to the back1594
from A to (also until) Z1612
from clew to earing1627
from top to bottom1666
back and edge1673
all hollow1762
(all) to pieces1788
from A to Za1821
to one's (also the) fingertips1825
to one's fingernails1851
from tip to toe1853
down to the ground1859
to the backbone1864
right the way1867
pur sang1893
from the ground up1895
in and out1895
from soda (card) to hock1902
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 360 (MED) Ant ich [sc. Belial] hit am þet makede þen muchele witti witege ysaie beon isahet þurh & þurh to deaðe.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8201 Þa Hengest isæh þa hæðene ibuȝene..þe fleh Henges þurh & þurh þat he com to Kunigges-burh.
?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) l. 150 (MED) Muche was þe blisse þat was in þe burȝ, Iosep for to sullen hi ladden þurȝ & þurȝ.
?a1450 Metrical Life Christ (1977) 37 (MED) He made his men..For to arme hem..And go þe cuntray þurgh & þorgh, Boþe cite, castel and burgh.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1912) 227 He was..By loue..throuch & throuch persit to the hart.
1581 T. Lupton Persuasion from Papistrie 306 The Bull..gored him through and through, and so killed him immediatly.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 112 You'ld be so leane, that blasts of Ianuary Would blow you through and through.
a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 9 The English shot her [sc. the Spanish ship] through and through so often that she run her self a ground.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4521/2 Having our Ship's Sides in a great many places shot through and through.
1842 W. Howitt Rural & Domest. Life Germany xviii. 386 His corn bags are bored through and through with a great pointed iron, to see if he has concealed anything contraband in it.
1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 166 We were all wet through and through.
1904 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 26 Nov. 24172/1 When the asphalt is melted through and through, add the copal oil.
1941 E. Linklater Man on my Back i. 11 He was a Plymouth Brother who read his Bible through and through.
2003 C. Sweetman & L. Sweetman What to eat when you can't eat Anything (2004) 128 Roast..until the potato chunks are soft through and through.
b. Woodworking. With reference to sawing: all the way through the log in parallel cuts, without rotating the log. Now esp. in through-and-through-sawn adj. designating a board or plank produced by this method of sawing. Cf. sense C. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood in specific form > [adjective] > cut or sawn > cut or sawn in specific manner
quarter cleft1666
listed1842
through-and-through-sawn1870
half-timber1874
rotary-cut1877
quarter-sawn1878
mill-run1881
flat-sawn1882
plain-sawed1888
plain-sawn1895
rift-sawn1895
radial sawn1958
radial sawed1972
1870 D. Craik Pract. Amer. Millwright & Miller xiv. 223 They [sc. the logs] are merely split through and through in one direction.
1873 Manufacturer & Builder Oct. 223/2 He can..make a better quality of work than could be made by sawing through and through.
1920 F. T. Hill Pract. Aeroplane Constr. iv. 98 The difference between the shrinkage on a through-and-through-sawn and a rift-sawn plank is shown.
1973 Materials & Technol. VI. i. 59 Small hardwood logs are generally cut through and through.
2004 C. Simpson Home Guide to Woodwork 24/2 Quarter-sawn timber shrinks more evenly than through and through sawn timber.
2. In all respects; in every aspect; thoroughly, wholly, entirely. Now frequently postmodifying a predicative noun or adjective, indicating that a person or thing is fully of the kind expressed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely or thoroughly
welleOE
furtherlyc1175
through and through?1316
perfectlya1400
radically?a1425
roundly?a1425
substantiallya1425
perfectc1425
thoroughly1442
substantiallyc1449
throughlya1450
naitlyc1450
through1472
surely?a1475
cleanc1475
through stitch1573
fundamentally1587
down1616
perfectedly1692
minutely1796
homea1825
good1834
rotten1840
out1971
full on1979
?1316 Short Metrical Chron. (Royal) (2002) l. 555 An holi wommon þourh & þourh.
1531 tr. E. Fox et al. Determinations Moste Famous Vniuersities f. 5 We..serched and examined throwe and throwe..bothe the bokes of holy scripture, and also the moste approued interpreters of the same.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 59 I will through and through Cleanse the foule bodie of th'infected world. View more context for this quotation
1685 W. Bagshawe Riches of Grace: 2nd Pt. 196 You resolve not to be his through and through.
1746 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Satires i. ix. 134 One who knew My sweet Companion through and through.
1838 W. Ware Probus I. vii. 241 I am a changed man—through and through. There is not a thought of my mind, nor a fibre of my body, what they were once.
1888 J. Rhys Lect. Origin & Growth Relig. illustr. by Celtic Heathendom 458 The Thorsteinn story..not corresponding through and through to any of the Celtic ones.
1918 Rotarian July 18/2 We've come to understand you, come to know you thru an' thru.
1956 Q. Film, Radio & Television 10 250 He is Mexican through and through.
2000 L. S. Baker Losers' Club xx. 177 She was a city girl through and through.
B. prep.
All the way through or repeatedly through. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [preposition] > through > completely
throughoutOE
thorough and thoroughc1300
through and througha1325
utouthc1480
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4083 He slug Zabri for godes luuen; Hise hore bi-neðe and him abuuen, Ðurg and ðurg boðen he stong Wið hise gisarme.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xiv. 346 He shoved his swerde thrughe & thrughe his body.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1092 The red knycht..Goith to o knycht..The wich he persit throuch & throuch the hart.
1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya iii. 14 Breaking the sway of the Ise,..which otherwise no doubt had stricken quite through and through the sides of their Shippes.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 68 Thy slander hath gone through and through her heart. View more context for this quotation
1694 R. South 12 Serm. II. 133 His Infinite, All-searching Knowledge, which looks through and through the most secret of our Thoughts.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 240 He broke through and through them.
1745 P. Thomas True Jrnl. Voy. South-Seas 281 Our second Shot..went thro' and thro' her upper Works.
1822 J. Neal Logan I. ii. 21 Ready..to strike the bayonet through and through his heart, at the very next breath!
1932 H. Walpole Fortress iii. 562 The mist immediately surrounding him was..so wetting that he was already soaked through and through his clothes.
2001 C. J. Dorsey Paradigm of Earth 35 Morgan looked into doorways at random, walking through and through the house, wearing down her paths.
C. adj. Usually in form through-and-through.
1.
a. Thorough, complete; esp. that is fully the kind of person or thing expressed by the noun; thoroughgoing, out-and-out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute > of a person or his character
utterc1420
complete1526
entirea1533
throughout1532
in grain?1577
consummate1603
essential1604
perfecta1616
thorough1625
thorough-paceda1628
thoroughbred1701
throughgoing1830
through and through1831
thorough-souled1842
ingrained1851
ingrain1865
1831 Edinb. Rev. Sept. 62 A close inspection—a through-and-through examination—and not the rapid and perfunctory perusal of a new book exposed upon a stall.
1857 Let. Dec. in Harper's Weekly 2 Jan. (1858) 12/1 Allow me to introduce your humble servant—a through and through German student.
1892 Internat. Jrnl. Ethics 2 512 The unconditional surrender to mere power can never meet with the approval of a through-and-through altruist.
1943 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 27 279 This demands..a through-and-through knowledge of foreign languages.
1975 J. Lees-Milne Diary 24 Jan. in Through Wood & Dale (2001) 9 He is a typical squire, and a through-and-through countryman.
2015 Guelph (Ont.) Mercury (Nexis) 1 May n18 My companion, a through-and through beer drinker, chose to try a four draft sampler.
b. Designating coal which has not been sifted or screened, and which therefore consists of large and small pieces mixed indiscriminately. Cf. through adj. 7.
ΚΠ
1861 Law Jrnl. Rep. 30 ii. Common Pleas 19/2 ‘Through and through’ coal meant coal which was unscreened, and which consequently consisted of a larger proportion of small coal than the ‘hand-picked’.
1871 Rep. Commissioners Coal II. 264/1 in Parl. Papers (C. 435.-1) XVIII. 264/1 ‘Through and through’ coals from Cardiff and Newport cost 7s. 6d. per ton.
1911 Chem. Engineer 14 311/2 Occasionally it happens that a colliery which screens its coal is asked for through-an-through coal, or unscreened coal.
1933 Financial Times 9 Feb. 7/1 The coal we use is a ‘through and through’ coal, or, in other words, the ‘run of the mine’. It is not screened at all.
2008 D. Annaratone Steam Generators vi. 116 As far as the size of the coal, we speak of through-and-through coal if we consider coal coming from the mine.
2.
a. That goes all the way through; spec. (of a wound) caused by a bullet, blade, etc., passing all the way through (a part of) the body and out the other side. through and through stitch: a stitch taken right through the material being sewn; = through stitch n.
ΚΠ
1849 Fraser's Mag. Dec. 610/2 [We are] studying gun-shot and bayonet wounds...Nearly all through and through wounds, on account of the close fighting.
1859 I. S. Homans & I. S. Homans Cycl. Commerce & Commerc. Navigation (ed. 2) 1697/1 It is believed that the first invention of a sewing machine originated in the United States, and resulted in an impracticable plan for sewing the common hand, or through-and-through stitch in leather.
1869 Amer. Jrnl. Insanity 25 376 A passage of six feet wide, through which may play a through-and-through draft of fresh air.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. ii. 26 A through-and-through open food-canal, with a vent or anus as well as a mouth, is first seen in Threadworms or Nematodes.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 22 July 186/2 The only visceral lesion was a through-and-through perforation of the left rectal wall.
2006 R. E. Bristow & L. D. Lagasse in R. E. Bristow & B. Y. Karlan Surg. for Ovarian Cancer v. 145/1 If the purse-string is placed by hand, a through-and-through stitch placed 2––3 mm from the bowel edge (weave stitch) is preferable to the whip stitch.
2012 Denver Post (Nexis) 22 Aug. 10 b The senior..[was] up all night after getting treated for a through-and-through bullet wound that left holes in his neck.
b. Woodworking. Designating a method of producing boards, planks, etc., by sawing all the way through the log in parallel cuts, without rotating the log. Esp. in through-and-through sawing. Cf. sense A. 1b.This method is also called flat sawing, plain sawing (see plain sawing n. at plain adj.2 Compounds 3), live sawing, or slash sawing.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [noun] > sawing or cutting > specific
ripsawing1842
through-and-through sawing1876
rift sawing1881
quarter sawing1883
whip-sawing1885
sawmilling1901
plain sawing1931
1876 Internat. Exhib. Official Catal. (U.S. Centennial Commission) (ed. 2) III. 20/1 Dogging devices especially adapted for ‘live’ or ‘through-and-through’ sawing.
1920 F. T. Hill Pract. Aeroplane Constr. iv. 99 In the case of logs which are not straight, use the through-and-through method so arranged that the cuts are straight in one plane.
1979 A. B. Emary Woodworking i. 9 Most of the timber at a merchant's will be from logs cut by the through and through method.
2011 Best Tips (Fine Woodworking) iv. 120 The first approach to cutting your own lumber is a common method called through-and-through sawing—one cut after another from one side to the other.
D. n. Chiefly in form through-and-through.
A wound caused by a bullet which passes all the way through (a part of) the body and out the other side.
ΚΠ
1977 Lompoc (Calif.) Rec. 28 Jan. 1/1 We found..[him] in the living room with a gun across his lap. The wound was what we call a through and through, it entered one side of his head and out the other.
1991 Los Angeles Times 11 Aug. (Mag.) 40/5 All his wounds are through-and-throughs—the .38-caliber bullets passed straight through his body and out again.
2008 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 14 Dec. 36 ‘You had a through-and-through’, he said... ‘A bullet went in one side, here, and out the other, there.’
2012 C. Stroud Niceville 61 No through-and-through. The slug was still inside him.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adv.prep.adj.n.c1225