go the whole hog
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Do something completely.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
Call her Marge, you might as well call her butter and go the whole hog mightn't you really?
When I fly to California for my final rethink, maybe I'll go the whole hog and get my blood fixed too.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “go the whole hog” mean?
Do something completely.
Is “go the whole hog” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.