Where Does the Phrase "From Soup to Nuts" Come From?

I was watching a show recently when someone used the phrase "soup to nuts". And even though I understood what it meant — everything from beginning to end — I suddenly realized I had no idea why it meant that. What were soup and nuts doing together in the same sentence?

Curious, I looked it up.

As it turns out, the expression "soup to nuts" dates back to formal American and British dining customs in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In those multi-course meals:

• Soup was typically served first
• Nuts came last, often offered with port or sherry after dessert

So the phrase literally referred to the entire meal experience, from the very first spoonful to the final nibble. Over time, it became a popular idiom meaning "the whole thing" or "start to finish."

The phrase began showing up in print in the early 1900s, gradually shedding its culinary roots and finding new life in business, storytelling, and tech — anywhere someone wanted to talk about something being handled comprehensively.