May 16, 2017 - Have you ever heard the expression “the whole kit and kaboodle” used? If you are like me, I have heard this slang expression used since I was knee-high to a duck. I think we all understand it to mean “everything”, or “all of it”. The question is more about its history. When did it originate, and from where?
Research indicates that this phrase seems to date back to the mid-18th century, probably British, and connected to a kitbag. You probably know that a kitbag, or a kit bag, is what soldiers called their bags that held, well, everything they needed to carry around with them. The word “kit” probably came from “kith”, which means one’s estate, one’s belongings, thus the connection. Therefore the “whole kit” refers to everything you’d normally carry, probably compared to a suitcase today.
More interesting is the word “kaboodle” which didn’t start out as such, but was “caboodle”. The “k” was probably added for the sheer pleasure of the sound. “Boodle” was a word that was used to describe a collection of things, even a collection of people. Thus, the phrase “kit and caboodle” may have originated with the idea of bringing along your bag and your friends.
In recent years in the United States, the word “boodle” has been altered to “booty”, meaning money illegally obtained, particularly linked to bribery and corruption. An example would be a person who robbed or stole money and/or other valuables referring to their ill-gotten “booty”.
In any case, while “boodle” meaning “money” seems to have faded away in recent years, “kit and caboodle” has proven a very durable slang term, especially in the United States, perhaps because of its slightly mysterious sound.
Some of you older readers may remember the marching song “Pack Up Your Trouble in Your Old Kit-Bag”. It was published in 1915 in London. It was written by two Welsh songwriters, George H. Powell and his brother, Felix Powell. It was featured in the American show Her Soldier Boy, which opened in December of 1916. The song is best remembered for its chorus:
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile,
While you’ve a Lucifer to light your fag,
Smile boys, that’s the style.
What’s the use of worrying?
It never was worth the while, so
Pack up your troubles in your old kit-bag,
And smile, smile, smile.
A later play presented by the National Theatre recounts how these music hall stars rescued this song from their rejects pile and re-scored it to win a wartime competition for a marching song. It became very popular, boosting British morale despite the horrors of that war. It was one of a large number of music hall songs aimed at maintaining morale, recruiting for the forces, and defending Britain’s war aims.
Hopefully, the next time you are want to use the phrase, “The whole kit and kaboodle”, you will have a better understanding of its origin and meaning.
