: a vaguely specified set of related objects or circumstances
will you go to the file safe, please, get the whole ball of wax, and lay it out here — New Yorker
knows who's having troubles, who's sleeping with who, the whole ball of wax — Grover Lewis
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Informal.
everything, including all details, parts, etc., relating to a particular matter: He came back from Chicago with the contract for the whole ball of wax.
[1950-55]
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noun [singular]
US informal
1 : a situation or set of conditions
He's a good amateur, but playing basketball at the professional level is an entirely different ball of wax. [=an entirely different thing]
2 : a collection of items or objects
He won the car, the furniture, and the tropical vacation–the whole ball of wax! [=everything]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.