|
Reader question: Please explain this sentence: University is not the be-all and end-all. My comments: Getting enrolled at university is not everything. It’s not the beginning and end of life. It’s not a matter of life and death. It’s not the only important thing in life. We sometimes conclude a discussion with: “That will be all”, meaning no more discussion is necessary; or “That’ll be the end of it all”, meaning the same, no more talk is wanted. Hence, figuratively speaking, be-all and end-all means everything and the end of everything, i.e. the whole thing, or something of the utmost importance, trumping everything else. William Shakespeare coined this phrase in Mcbeth in 1605, according to Phrases.org.uk: The bard gives these lines to Macbeth, when he is contemplating assassinating King Duncan of Scotland and taking the throne for himself.: If it were done, when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well It were done quickly. If th’ 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 As anyone who knows the play’s plot will be aware, things don’t turn out quite so simply for Macbeth and the murder is far from being the ‘end all’. As the murder of King Duncan was not the “end all” for Macbeth, getting into university will not be the “end all” for any youngster of today. | 
