"Lock, stock, and barrel" is a

merism Merism (, ) is a rhetorical device (or figure of speech) in which a combination of two ''contrasting parts'' of the whole refer to the whole. For example, in order to say that someone "searched everywhere", one could use the merism "searched hig ...

used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning "all", "total" or "everything". It derives from the effective portions of a

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

: the

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, the

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

, and the

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

History

The term was first recorded in the letters of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

in 1817, in the line "Like the High-landman's gun, she wants stock, lock, and barrel, to put her into repair." It is, however, thought that this term evolved into a popular saying some years before in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Common uses

Media

"Lock Stock & Barrel" by RH McCrory is a book dealing with the restoration and repair of antique firearms, in two volumes. "Lock, Stock & Barrel" by Cyril S. Adams & Robert S. Braden is a book about making an English shotgun and shooting with consistency. "Lock, stock and barrel" is mentioned in Silvia Plath's novel "The Bell Jar". “Lock, stock and barrel” is mentioned in

Donna Tartt Donna Louise Tartt (born December 23, 1963) is an American novelist. She wrote the novels '' The Secret History'' (1992), '' The Little Friend'' (2002), and ''The Goldfinch'' (2013), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted into ...

’s novel ''

The Secret History ''The Secret History'' is the first novel by the American author Donna Tartt, published by Alfred A. Knopf in September 1992. A campus novel, it tells the story of a closely knit group of six Classics students at Hampden College, a small, eli ...

''. "Lock, stock, and barrel" is the name of an achievement in the popular zombie survival video game, ''Unturned,'' which can be achieved by crafting a rocket launcher within the game's "Arid" map. "Lock, stock, and barrel" is also referenced in the title of the British crime film ''

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 neo-noir black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie. It follows a heist involving a confident young card sharp who loses £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of ...

'' (1998), as well as in the TV film ''

Lock, Stock and Barrel "Lock, stock, and barrel" is a merism used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning "all", "total" or "everything". It derives from the effective portions of a gun: the Lock (firearm), lock, the Stock (firearms), stock, and ...

'' (1971). Officer Lockstock and Officer Barrel are two characters from '' Urinetown: the Musical''. Another musical that used it was the animated musical ''

The Nightmare Before Christmas ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (formerly known as ''Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'') is a 1993 American stop motion Animation, animated Gothic film, gothic musical film, musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick in his f ...

'' by Tim Burton featured three infamous children, the 'Trick or Treaters' 'Lock', 'Shock' and 'Barrel'. The phrase was mentioned by

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

in the 1988 movie ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

''. The phrase was mentioned by

Frank Costanza This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Overview ;Overview : = Main cast (credited) : ...

in the ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'' episode "

The Shower Head "The Shower Head" is the 126th episode of the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld''. This is the sixteenth episode for the seventh season. It aired on February 15, 1996. It had 32.3 million US viewers. This episode focuses on Jerry and George's struggles t ...

" (season 7, episode 16). The phrase was spoken by the character Leonardo Leonardo in '' Clerks: The Animated Series'' (season 1, episode 1). The phrase was spoken to the character

J. R. Ewing John Ross Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas (TV series), Dallas'' (1978–1991) and its spin-off (media), spin-offs, including the Dallas (2012 TV series), continuation series (2012–2014). The charac ...

in ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'' (season 3, episode 24). The phrase was spoken by the character Karen Baldwin in '' For All Mankind'' (season 2, episode 8). The phrase is written in the sign of the "Cannonball pub" in the 1981 movie "The Cannonbal Run"

Politics

Politician

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

, Vice President of the United States under

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, has heavily favored the phrase since at least 2010 when urging for the repeal of

Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

, and used the phrase extensively during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.

Music

"Lock, Stock and Barrel" is a

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

written by

Sammy Fain Sammy Fain (born Samuel E. Feinberg; June 17, 1902 – December 6, 1989) was an American composer of popular music. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he contributed numerous songs that form part of The Great American Songbook, and to Broadway theatr ...

Joe Loss Joshua Alexander "Joe" Loss (22 June 1909 – 6 June 1990) was a British dance band leader and musician who founded his own eponymous orchestra. Life Loss was born in Spitalfields, London, the youngest of four children. His parents, Israel an ...

and his orchestra recorded a version in London in 1950. It was released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

label as catalogue numbers BD 6070 and HE 2832.

Poetry

The term is used by

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

in his poem " The Tower".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lock, Stock, And Barrel Figures of speech