stem

From the very beginning to the very end; covering or regarding the entire possible range or scope. We have to do a stock count of everything in the warehouse, from A to Z! This introductory philosophy course will examine the field from A to Z, beginning with the Greeks and finishing with the work of modern philosophers. In light of the scandal, the entire organization needs to be restructured from A to Z.

For the entire duration; from beginning to end. Our trip was a joy from start to finish. That team really dominated from start to finish—their opponent was totally overwhelmed. That film was excellent from start to finish!

Completely or entirely, as from one end to the other. The stem is the front part of a ship and the stern is the rear. If that guy so much as looks at me the wrong way, I'll cut him from stem to stern, I swear! When I had the flu, I honestly ached from stem to stern and couldn't get out of bed for days. In light of the scandal, the entire organization needs to be restructured from stem to stern.

To come, result, or develop from something else. My fear of the water stems from the time my brother nearly drowned me when we were playing in our cousin's pool as kids. The poverty in this area stems from the closure of the coal mine, the largest single employer in the entire county.

To stop something from continuing or worsening. Once the people turn on you, you'll have a hard time stemming the tide of rebellion.

Completely or entirely, as from one end to the other. The stem and the stern are opposite ends of a ship. If that guy so much as looks at me the wrong way, I'll cut him from stem to stern, I swear! When I had the flu, I honestly ached from stem to stern and couldn't get out of bed for days.

proverb Said when someone is displaying traits or behaving in the same way as their relatives (especially parents). A variant of the more common phrase "the apple does not fall far from the tree.") Did you hear that Dr. Klein's daughter, Molly, is majoring in Biology? I guess the apple does not fall far from the stem.

Fig. of a complete and wide variety. We have just about everything from A to Z. She ordered everything on the menu from A to Z.

Fig. entirely; throughout. I disliked the whole business from start to finish. Mary caused problems from start to finish.

[for an event] to result from something. These problems all stem from your mismanagement. Our difficulties stem from the bad weather we have been having.

Also, from A to Z or start to finish or stem to stern . From beginning to end, throughout, as in We went through the whole agenda, from soup to nuts, or She had to learn a whole new system from A to Z, or It rained from start to finish, or We did over the whole house from stem to stern. The first expression, with its analogy to the first and last courses of a meal, appeared in slightly different forms (such as from potage to cheese) from the 1500s on; the precise wording here dates only from the mid-1900s. The second expression alludes to the first and last letters of the Roman alphabet; see also alpha and omega. The third comes from racing and alludes to the entire course of the race; it dates from the mid-1800s. The last variant is nautical, alluding to the front or stem, and rear or stern, of a vessel.

Stop the course of a trend or tendency, as in It is not easy to stem the tide of public opinion. This idiom uses stem in the sense of "stop" or "restrain." [Mid-1800s]

see under from soup to nuts.

COMMON From A to Z means from the beginning to the end of an activity or including everything in a situation. I made a detailed plan and followed it from A to Z. Staff members were sent to assist the families with pretty well everything they needed from A to Z.

COMMON If you stem the tide or stem the flow of something bad which is happening to a large degree, you start to control and stop it. The authorities seem powerless to stem the rising tide of violence. The cut in interest rates has done nothing to stem the flow of job losses.

Completely; thoroughly.

From one end to another.

From the beginning to the end; the whole thing. The analogy to a complete meal of numerous courses dates back many years. John Heywood’s proverb collection of 1546 has it “from potage to cheese,” and John Clarke’s 1639 collection, “from th’egges to th’apples.” The precise locution of soup to nuts appears to be American and dates only from the early twentieth century. A very similar cliché, from start to finish, comes from sports, particularly rowing races. The earliest example in print, according to the OED, dates from a sports publication of 1868. This cliché is more common in Britain, where finish is used as a noun more often than it is in America. See also alpha and omega; from the word go.

To stop the course of a trend, opinion, or the like. The verb to stem, meaning to stop or restrain, comes from the Old Norse word stemma, meaning “to dam.” It would take an enormous dam to stop ocean tides, but the tide of public opinion, for example, can be checked or diverted. Thus Fred A. Paley wrote (The Tragedies of Aeschylus, 1855), “Aristophanes evidently saw the tide . . . and he vainly tried to stem it by the barrier of his ridicule.”

From beginning to end; entirely. In nautical terminology the stem is an upright at the bow (front) of a vessel and the stern is the back end. This counterpart of from head to toe and from soup to nuts was quoted by the Roman writer Cicero as a Greek proverb. In English the term was used literally from about 1600 on, and figuratively soon afterward.