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Old May 25, 2011, 08:04 PM
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Awaken Awaken is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: United States
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Native Language: American English
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aleCcowaN View Post
Thanks. I wonder what extra nuance is adding that "and caboodle". It sounded to me like "the whole kit and then some". What's the perception of native speakers?

[some time passes]

As caboodle seems to have no meaning outside this idiom I wonder if it is not representative of a supposedly rare and exclusive piece or feature that they must have those who have it all, similar to the Argentinean idioms "y (hasta) un monito que te apantalla" or "con todos los chiches" (chiche=toy= figuratively, additional features, pieces, luxurious extras, etc.).

[So far "el juego completo y (con) todos los chiches" might be a good expression to compare with, at least in my idiolect. I also wonder about similar expressions in Spanish]
I had to look this one up. I have only heard the word caboodle in the phrase you mentioned. Apparently, the original word was "boodle" which meant a collection of things or a collection of people. Kit was short for kit bag which soldiers carried. So "kit and boodle" became "kit and caboodle" which meant bring your stuff (kit bag) and anything else you can think of.

So from the antiques roadshow it meant "everything you can think of" more or less. "The whole lot" is not a bad translation either.

Last edited by Awaken; May 25, 2011 at 08:06 PM.
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