stem



from stem to stern

 
1. Lit. from the front of a boat or ship to the back. He inspected the boat from stem to stern and decided he wanted to buy it.
2. Fig. from one end to another. Now, I have to clean the house from stem to stern. I polished my car carefully from stem to stern.
See also: stem, stern

stem from something

[for an event] to result from something. These problems all stem from your mismanagement. Our difficulties stem from the bad weather we have been having.
See also: stem

(from) stem to stern

completely We overhauled the car from stem to stern.
Related vocabulary: from top to bottom
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of from the stem to the stern ( from the front end to the back end of a ship)
See also: stem, stern

stem from something

(slightly formal)
to result from something His fear of snakes stems from an incident in his childhood.
See also: stem

stem the tide

to stop something from increasing This law may stem the tide of pollution of our beautiful river from the factories built along its banks.
See also: stem, tide

from soup to nuts

  (American informal)
from the beginning to the end She told us everything about the trip, from soup to nuts.
See also: nuts, soup

from stem to stern

  (American)
from one end of something to the other We overhauled the car from stem to stern.
See also: stem, stern

stem the tide

to stop something bad which is happening a lot (often + of ) We have to stem the tide of emigration if our economy is to recover. Ohio State were losing 24-48 when Jackson stepped in to stem the tide.
See also: stem, tide

from soup to nuts

Also, from A to Z or start to finish or stem to stern . From beginning to end, throughout, as in We went through the whole agenda, from soup to nuts, or She had to learn a whole new system from A to Z, or It rained from start to finish, or We did over the whole house from stem to stern. The first expression, with its analogy to the first and last courses of a meal, appeared in slightly different forms (such as from potage to cheese) from the 1500s on; the precise wording here dates only from the mid-1900s. The second expression alludes to the first and last letters of the Roman alphabet; see also alpha and omega. The third comes from racing and alludes to the entire course of the race; it dates from the mid-1800s. The last variant is nautical, alluding to the front or stem, and rear or stern, of a vessel.
See also: nuts, soup

stem the tide

Stop the course of a trend or tendency, as in It is not easy to stem the tide of public opinion. This idiom uses stem in the sense of "stop" or "restrain." [Mid-1800s]
See also: stem, tide

stem to stern

see under from soup to nuts.
See also: stem, stern

stem from

v.
To have something as an origin or cause; have developed from something: Most prejudice stems from fear.
See also: stem

from stem to stern

From one end to another.
See also: stem, stern

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Mcclure[mə'kluə]
Frane-Croatian
Stjepan-Croatian, Serbian
Geiger['gaigə]
Vilenvee-LYENRussian
Yukoyoo-koJapanese