Shebang

Etymology 1
Origin proposed : Known to go back at least to year 1862 (Walt Whitman), shebang is suspected to originate from the French word char-a-banc, which was a bus-like wagon with a lot of seats, but no specific connection has been proven as of now. Later, Mark Twain used it to describe a vehicle, as well as "any matter of present concern". Also possibly derived from or influence by shebeen:, pre-1800, chiefly in Ireland and Scotland, from seibin:, diminutive of seibe:

Alternative forms

 * chebang, schebang

Noun

 * 1) Any matter of present concern; thing; or business.
 * 2) *1934 — Robert E. Howard, Sluggers on the Beach:
 * "Before I'd share anything with you," he said bitterly, "I'd lose the whole shebang."
 * 1)  A vehicle.
 * 2) *1871 December 14, Samuel Clemens, “Roughing It” (lecture), printed in Fred W. Lorch, “Mark Twain's Lecture from Roughing it”, in American Literature, volume 22, number 3 (November 1950), pages 305:
 *  […] So they got into the empty omnibus and sat down. Colonel Jack says: “...What is the name of this.” Colonel Jim told him it was a barouche. After a while he poked his head out in front and said to the driver, “I say, Johnny, this suits me. We want this shebang all day. Let the horses go.”
 * 1)  A lean-to or temporary shelter.
 * 2) *1889 — Bret Harte, The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh
 * They say that old pirate, Kingfisher Culpepper, had a stock of the real thing from Robertson County laid in his shebang on the Marsh just before he died.

Derived terms

 * whole shebang

Etymology 2
or, after Etymology 1.

Noun

 * 1)  The character string "#!" used at the beginning of a computer file to indicate which interpreter can process the commands in the file, chiefly used in Unix and related operating systems.

Synonyms

 * hashbang

shebang shebang shebang