first and last

• Audio (AU)

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first and last (not comparable)

1. (attributive) only

   This is the first and last time I'm doing this.

• one and only

first and last (plural firsts and lasts)

1. (idiomatic) A person's combined given name and surname.

   Hi, Yes, I'm here to register as a new primary care patient.
   OK, I'll have you fill out a form on this digital tablet, but first I need your first and last, date of birth, and the last four of your social [the ending digits of an identification number].

first and last (not comparable)

1. altogether; wholly

   He is a gentleman, first and last.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:completely

   • 1937, Gian Dàuli, The Wheel Turns, page 345:

     I had been a cad, a scoundrel, first and last. Sofia had been courageous in her misfortune; she had never wished to be a burden on me; she had hidden nothing from me as regards her past; I had sworn that her past no longer mattered, and then I had beaten her nearly to death.