Where does the phrase 'To pull out all the stops' come from?

Answer 1

Tim & KC are both correct. Just found this...


The derivation of this phrase from the fact that pipe organs have stops which control the air flow and that pulling them out increases the volume seems to be the type of casual easy answer that is the hallmark of folk etymology. That is the source of the phrase though.

Prior to the introduction of pipe organs which contained stops the word 'stop' had, in this context, been used to mean 'note' or 'key'. That usage is recorded as early as the late 16th century, as in this example from George Gascoigne's satire The steele glas, 1576:

"But sweeter soundes, of concorde, peace, and loue, Are out of tune, and iarre in euery stoppe."

Of course, 'notes' and 'keys' can't be pulled out, whereas organ stops can.

The figurative use came to light in the in 1865, in Matthew Arnold's Essays in criticism:

"Knowing how unpopular a task one is undertaking when one tries to pull out a few more stops in that... somewhat narrow-toned organ, the modern Englishman."

Answer 2

The other guys are kind of right when they say an organ, but it is not a church organ that the phrase relates to but the ones used in old cinemas/movie theatres in the days of silent movies. With no soundtrack, films were accompanied by a live organist - often these organs came equipped with sound effects such as fire engine bells and train whistles, and they would rise up out of the floor at the front of the theatre before the film, then drop back down so the organ and organist would not block the view of the screen. Then (as now) the most complex and loudest part of the live "soundtrack" would take place during the most exciting part of the movie, and so the organist would "pull out all the stops" to heighten the dramatic effect.

Answer 3

At a guess I would say it refers to playing a church Organ which is loudest when all the stops are pulled out but I could be completely wrong

Answer 4

I agree with the Organ answer, but a sudden thought came to me. On oldfashioned typewriters, you could 'set tabs' and if someone wanted to slow you down (and annoy you), they could hit a tab on each space. When you next began typing and hit the tab key for margins etc., it would only move one space and so on. Until you realised it, it would take you about 60 tab hits to get to the end of the line. The tabs were known as 'stops'. So, when yu pulled all the stops out, and hit the tab, the roller would move freely from one end to the other..................

Answer 5

It comes from the second half of the 19th century.Organs have knobs called stops, and if you pulled out all the stops,you got the fullest, loudest sound.

Answer 6

from playing an organ, pulling out all the stops gives you the richest loudest sound.

Answer 7

Originates from the old church organs - refer to :
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/290100.html

Answer 8

Yep, church organ it is.

Answer 9

yes, church organ