The Whole Shebang

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  1. The Real Story Behind the Phrase ‘The Whole Shebang’:

    […] to spare. For example, if you’re ordering a massive, five-patty hamburger, and you ask for the “the whole shebang,” whatever can be stacked on top of that puppy will be, including cheese, onions, tomatoes, […]

  2. Story Behind the Phrase ‘The Whole Shebang’:

    […] to spare. For example, if you’re ordering a massive, five-patty hamburger, and you ask for the “the whole shebang,” whatever can be stacked on top of that puppy will be, including cheese, onions, tomatoes, […]

  3. The Real Story Behind the Phrase ‘The Whole Shebang’ | NewsTalk 1290 News & Talk of Texoma:

    […] to spare. For example, if you’re ordering a massive, five-patty hamburger, and you ask for the “the whole shebang,” whatever can be stacked on top of that puppy will be, including cheese, onions, tomatoes, […]

  4. The Real Story Behind the Phrase ‘The Whole Shebang’ | 92.9 Jack FM -- Playing What We Want:

    […] to spare. For example, if you’re ordering a massive, five-patty hamburger, and you ask for the “the whole shebang,” whatever can be stacked on top of that puppy will be, including cheese, onions, tomatoes, […]

  5. For Sunday (and more) | Deborah Gump's 202:

    […] we’ll take that test on capitalization, and on Thursday we’ll take another test on the whole shebang. This entry was posted in Uncategorized by Deborah Gump. Bookmark the […]

  6. Jk black:

    Thanks for the insight on the whole shebang and funny,too.

  7. chad:

    I WAS WATCHING A PBS SPEICIAL AND THINK THE TURM CAME FROM TIME OF THE CIVAL WAR ERA AS THE LITTLE HUTS OR TENTS THAT THE PRISONERS WERE SLEEPING IN WERE CALLED SHEBANGS. I WAS CHECKING HERE AS TO HELP ME FIND OUT WHETHER THIS IS THE TRUE MEANING OR NOT.

  8. Bonnie:

    In the book, “The Fighting Men of the Civil War” (part of a three-volume set by William C. Davis) there are a number of photos and illustrations of “shebangs.” One photo, on page 132, shows numerous men standing under a brush-covered shelter, and six men sitting or standing in front of a small tent. His caption reads: “Confederates like these men of the 9th Mississippi near Pensacola in early 1861 had to contend with hotter climates. They erected brush-cover arbours, called “shebangs,” to protect them from the sun.” Under illustrations of “Tent Types,” is this caption: “The soldier took shelter as he could, or as much as the quartermaster allowed him. The tents the men used varied in size and shape, though they all succeeded in being mostly cold, drafty, and cramped.” The authenticated photos prove that “shebang” was a term in common usage in “early 1861.” It seems reasonable, considering the foregoing, that “the whole shebang” might be a phrase uttered by a soldier who managed to find a shebang that was unoccupied, or not “cramped,” thus being able to have… the “whole” shebang to himself!

  9. Bruce:

    I just heard yesterday the story that “shebang” is from the Civil War and was a tent, not unlike the modern “pup-tent”, and it was often the case that all of a soldier’s belongings would be thrown on the tent, then it was rolled and tied for carrying, thereby being the whole shebang, which was al and everything the soldier had.

  10. Carol:

    Years ago I toured the POW memorial in Andersonville, Georgia. The ranger said that they believe that “the whole shebang” originated from little structures the prisoners made from sticks to get out of the weather. Several men would share each “shebang”. Since the death rate was so high, eventually there would be only one man left using the shebang. Then it was said that he had “the whole shebang”.

  11. Anonymous:

    On a trip down the Mississippi, I visited several plantations, and one on a hillside,near Vicksburg, had a cave dug into the hill, small, but described as the shebang where mama and her kids could hide away from the house,with some furniture and beds, in case the northern troops over took the house.

  12. Sherry:

    I just returned from a trip to Vicksburg where we were shown hideouts built into the sides of ravine slopes where the Civil War soldiers could rest without getting shot. When a bomb hit one they would say it took out “The whole shebang,” meaning it (and anyone who was in it) was totally wiped out.