Be-all

If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly: if the assassination / Could trammel up the consequence, and catch / With his surcease success; that but this blow / Might be the be-all and the end-all here, / But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, / We'd jump the life to come.

Flexibility and politeness are the be-all and end-all of my present job.

Telecommuting isn't the be-all, end-all solution.

For me, money was never the be-all and end-all.

Good breathing technique is the be-all and end-all of singing.

The genii of syntax and prosody are his guardian angels, and the love of "gabble" is the be-all and the end-all of his political existence.

That but this blow / Might be the be-all and the end-all!

Bowen also spoke of […] teaching her daughter to rely not just on a mother, but on a community. "No one person should try to be the be-all to another person. We must surround our children with people they can count on."

[…] to be happy with their lot in life, content with things as they are, things that may once have been be-alls and absolute end-alls but that lost their intoxication after five years, put them on automatic pilot after ten and became a prison after fifteen.