What is "all along"

Along \A*long"\ (?; 115), adv. [OE. along, anlong, AS. andlang, along; pref. and- (akin to OFris. ond-, OHG. ant-, Ger. ent-, Goth. and-, anda-, L. ante, Gr. ?, Skr. anti, over against) + lang long. See Long.]

1. By the length; in a line with the length; lengthwise.

   Some laid along . . . on spokes of wheels are hung.
   --Dryden.

2. In a line, or with a progressive motion; onward; forward.

   We will go along by the king's highway.
   --Numb. xxi. 22.

   He struck with his o'ertaking wings, And chased us south along.
   --Coleridge.

3. In company; together.

   He to England shall along with you.
   --Shak.

   All along, all through the course of; during the whole time; throughout. ``I have all along declared this to be a neutral paper.''
   --Addison.

   To get along, to get on; to make progress, as in business. ``She 'll get along in heaven better than you or I.''
   --Mrs. Stowe.

All \All\, adv.

1. Wholly; completely; altogether; entirely; quite; very; as, all bedewed; my friend is all for amusement. ``And cheeks all pale.''
   --Byron.

   Note: In the ancient phrases, all too dear, all too much, all so long, etc., this word retains its appropriate sense or becomes intensive.

2. Even; just. (Often a mere intensive adjunct.) [Obs. or Poet.] All as his straying flock he fed. --Spenser. A damsel lay deploring All on a rock reclined. --Gay. All to, or All-to. In such phrases as ``all to rent,'' ``all to break,'' ``all-to frozen,'' etc., which are of frequent occurrence in our old authors, the all and the to have commonly been regarded as forming a compound adverb, equivalent in meaning to entirely, completely, altogether. But the sense of entireness lies wholly in the word all (as it does in ``all forlorn,'' and similar expressions), and the to properly belongs to the following word, being a kind of intensive prefix (orig. meaning asunder and answering to the LG. ter-, HG. zer-). It is frequently to be met with in old books, used without the all. Thus Wyclif says, ``The vail of the temple was to rent:'' and of Judas, ``He was hanged and to-burst the middle:'' i. e., burst in two, or asunder. All along. See under Along. All and some, individually and collectively, one and all. [Obs.] ``Displeased all and some.'' --Fairfax. All but.

   1. Scarcely; not even. [Obs.]
      --Shak.

   2. Almost; nearly. ``The fine arts were all but proscribed.''
      --Macaulay.

      All hollow, entirely, completely; as, to beat any one all hollow. [Low]

      All one, the same thing in effect; that is, wholly the same thing.

      All over, over the whole extent; thoroughly; wholly; as, she is her mother all over. [Colloq.]

      All the better, wholly the better; that is, better by the whole difference.

      All the same, nevertheless. ``There they [certain phenomena] remain rooted all the same, whether we recognize them or not.''
      --J. C. Shairp. ``But Rugby is a very nice place all the same.''
      --T. Arnold. -- See also under All, n.

adv. (context duration idiomatic English) For the entire time; always. prep. (&lit all along English)

adv. all the time or over a period of time; "She had known all along"; "the hope had been there all along" [syn: right along]

All Along (7 April 1979 – 23 February 2005) was a champion Thoroughbred racemare that was foaled in France. She was one of the top fillies of the last part of the 20th century, racing mostly in Europe.

"All Along" is a song from Elliot Minor's Solaris album, written by Alex Davies and produced by Jim Wirt, who also worked with Elliot Minor on their debut self-titled album. The song is a piano ballad featuring vocal harmonizing by Alex Davies and Ed Minton. This track was not released as a single.