to the backbone
English
Prepositional phrase
to the backbone
- (idiomatic) Through and through; thoroughly; entirely.
- Synonyms: to the bone, to the core; see also Thesaurus:to the full
- 1834, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Last Days of Pompeii
- staunch to the backbone
- 1894, Richard William Murray, South African Reminiscences (page 138)
- Sir Culling was an extreme Low Churchman, an Exeter Hallite to the backbone, and the head and front of the Platitudinarian Party.
- 1907, Alfred Thayer Mahan, From Sail to Steam: Reflections of Naval Life
- In temperament he was Dutch to the backbone — at least as we imagine Dutch.