How did the expression "Stop at nothing" come about? It means: be utterly ruthless or determined in one's attempt to achieve something. "he would stop at nothing to retain his position of power"
The only information that I found was that the expression was first recorded in John Dryden's Aurengzebe (1676): "The World is made for the bold impious man; Who stops at nothing, seizes all he can."
When I looked at the expression, it doesn't seem to make sense: Nothing isn't anything, so one would not act and never start. But its meaning is very clear -it is about all-consuming purpose where immoral and dangerous behaviours are within its scope.
Compare that to pull out all the stops - to use every means available, to express, do, or carry out something without reservation. The origin of this expression is derived from the pipe organ and camel into use around 1860.
This all comes to mind because I saw full page ad in the Globe this morning by one of the Toronto hospitals (Maybe the University Health Network) claiming it would stop at nothing. Perhaps it wanted to pull out all the stops instead.
Today's wisteria is around the corner from me - one of those Niagara bush wisterias on front lawns.
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