
to the hilt
Meaning: To be fully committed to something; to do something completely.
Example: “She backed her sister to the hilt in the dispute.”
Origin: The hilt is a sword or dagger's handle — the one part of the weapon that remains visible and ungripped by the blade itself once the weapon has been driven all the way into its target. "Up to the hilts," meaning completely or entirely, is documented from the 1670s, with the more general figurative sense of "to the hilt" following by 1687. The image is vividly precise: a blade thrust in only to the hilt has gone in as far as it physically can, with nothing further to give — a natural, unmistakable image for absolute maximum effort, commitment, or extent in any context, weapons included or not.
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