all terrible

In all respects terrible; terrible to all. "High o'er the host all - terrible he stands, And thunders to his steeds these dread commands." Pope: Homer's Iliad , bk. xix., 438-9. all-the-world, s . Fig .: An epithet applied by a person in love to the object of affection. "You are my all- the -world, and I must strive To know my shames and praises from your tongue." Shakesp.: Sonnets, cxii. tall to, tall-to, all-too, adv. [Eng. all; to.] 1. Originally, the all and to were distinct from each other, the to being connected with the verb immediately following, to which it imparted force. At first that verb was always one meaning to break or to destroy, and the prefix to implied that this breaking or destruction was complete or thorough. "The bagges and the bigirdles He hath to - broke hem all ." Piers Ploughman , Vis. 1., 5,078. " Al is to - broken thilke regioun."-Chaucer: C. T., 2,759. 2. Subsequently , in the opinion of some, the all and to became connected, acquiring the signification of altogether , quite, wholly , completely . Others would reduce all these cases under No. 1, and sweep No. 2 away. "It was not she that call'd him all - to naught; Now she adds honours to his hateful name. Shakesp. Venus and Adonis. "She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings, That, in the various bustle of resort. Were all - to ruffled, and sometimes impaired." Milton: Comus . "And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head, and all to brake his scull."Judg. ix. 58. your Bonaparte represents his Sorrows Napoleon Opera in an all - too stupendous style; with music of cannon-volleys, and and murder-shrieks of a world "-Carlyle: Sartor Resartus, bk. ii., ch. vi. IMG:content-0390.png:[blocks in formation]