Aleksey Gurtovoy <agurtovoy@meta-comm.com> writes:
David Abrahams writes:
Aleksey Gurtovoy <agurtovoy@meta-comm.com> writes:
David Abrahams writes:
IMO, in context, "the whole enchilada" is sufficiently obvious, but if non-native speakers contradict me I'll happily remove it.
FWIW, I wasn't familiar with the expression and had to look it up.
Had to because it was unclear, or just because you were curious?
I guessed that it means something like "the whole thing", so mostly the latter.
That's reassuring.
Also, and also FWIW, according to Cambridge International Dictionary of English (http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=90418&dict=CALD), it's an Americanism :).
Yes, believe it or not there's such a thing as "proper American English."
I didn't mean to imply that there isn't, I was just noting that the phrase targets a very specific audience: native speakers of American English.
It targets everyone because the phrase is (IMO) amusing and comprehensible no matter what kind of English you were first taught.
For instance, "... if you're looking for the whole thing" would still be colloquial but more "international", if you will.
But not the least bit colorful or amusing.
Anyway, it's your call, like I said, all the above is FWIW :)
Well, it's worth a lot to me to know it didn't actually cause you a comprehension problem :) -- Dave Abrahams Boost Consulting www.boost-consulting.com