mother of all






Contents






  • 1 English


    • 1.1 Etymology


    • 1.2 Phrase


      • 1.2.1 See also









English



Etymology


Calque of Arabic أُمّ الـ(ʾumm al--); popularized after its use by Saddam Hussein, then president of Iraq, in reference to the Gulf War as أُمّ المَعَارِك(ʾumm al-maʿārik, mother of battles).



Phrase


mother of all —



  1. (colloquial) Used before a plural noun to form a compound noun having the sense of: the greatest or largest of its kind.


    • 2003, "2003 Movie Guide", Christian Science Monitor, 26 Dec 03:
      Driving to a dinner engagement, a Parisian woman gets stuck in the mother of all traffic jams, offers a ride to a handsome pedestrian, and enters a fleeting affair that catches both of them by surprise.



    • 2006, Jean Chatzky, "Get the Scoop", Money, vol. 35.8:
      Five mail-order ice creams. Four pregnant women. Welcome to the mother of all taste tests.





See also



  • mother

  • Appendix:American Dialect Society words of the year




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