Meanings
- The name of many pubs.
Origin
Traditionally pub names had a pictorial representation, and the inn sign for inns named "Five Alls" showed five representative figures, each in appropriate garb with a motto underneath. This has occurred in a number of variations, but usually included a monarch saying "I rule (for) all" or "I govern all", a bishop or minister saying "I pray for all", a soldier saying "I fight for all", and a farmer saying "I pay for all". (In modern signs, often John Bull pays for all.) The fifth figure was often a lawyer saying "I plead for all", or could be omitted, in which case the inn would be named "Four Alls".
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Five Alls. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Five%20Alls
“Five Alls.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Five%20Alls. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Five Alls,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Five%20Alls.
Source: Five Alls on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.