when all is said and done
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
But when all is said and done, what innovation requires is hard, focused, purposeful work.
Oh, was not this delightful, to hurt again the girl who had rejected him, the girl who when all was said and done would have been a greater prize than the vulgar woman he had married for her money?
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.
Common questions
What does “when all is said and done” mean?
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
Is “when all is said and done” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.