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The outcome is a certainty, as in When Jim hit the ball over the fence, it was all over but the shouting. The term's first use in print, in 1842, was by Welsh sportswriter Charles James Apperley, but some authorities believe it originated even earlier in the United States for a close political race. Today it is applied to any contest. A common British version is all over bar the shouting. all over one In close physical contact. For example, Whenever I visit, that dog of Jane's is all over me. [Early 1900s] Also see FALL ALL OVER ONE; HAVE IT ALL OVER ONE.
American Heritage Idioms