all Sir Garnet, phr. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

all Sir Garnet phr.

also all sigarnio, all Sir Garneo, all Sir Garney oh

[a ref. to the military successes of Sir Garnet (later Lord) Wolseley (1833–1923), whose reputation was further enhanced by his efforts to improve the lot of the private soldier; the phr. was popularized through Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, when actor George Grossmith made himself up as Wolseley to sing the song ‘I am the very model of a modern Major-General’, and the phr. became a slang term of the time for ‘all correct’]

all in order, everything as it should be.

1891		London & Provincial Entr’acte 3 Jan. 15/1: Rat Evin absolutely favourite for the Water Rats’ Billiard Handicap. ‘Have a bit on me’ — ‘All Sir Garnet’.
1898		Binstead & Wells A Pink ’Un and a Pelican 86: Go on, guv’nor, it’s all ‘Sir Garnet’ now!
1900		Truth (Sydney) 16 Dec. 8/3: But that Willum ware a deep ’un, / All Sir Garnet, bet your life.
c.1900		Bateman & LeBrunn [perf. Vesta Victoria] A 'oliday on One Pound Ten 🎵 I started ‘All Sir Garnet’ with my husband, Flo and Bert.
1906		E. Dyson Fact’ry ’Ands 12: When all’s finished [...] I sails inter me little ’ome, all Sir Garney oh.
1907		Sheffield Wkly Teleg. 20 Nov. 25/3: ‘All Sir Garnet,’ he informed his companion, and together they stole through the gate.
1907		Mercury (Hobart, Tas.) 4 May 7/5: Schoolboy Slang [...] ‘All segarnio’ is barely more than a memory .
1911		Truth (Sydney) 22 Jan. 11/7: [They] do know their way about, sir, / All sir garnett, I’ll engage.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 31 Jan. 6/1: Boskerino! Cush, and all sigarnio, my oath!
1915		Lima News (OH) 24 Dec. 7/3: That makes everything all Sir Garnet.
1916		C.J. Dennis ‘The Straight Griffin’ in Moods of Ginger Mick 78: That’s all Sir Garneo.
1921		Western Morn. News 4 Apr. 3/6: Not All Sir Garnet. Gambling With Another Man’s Money.
1924		G.H. Lawson Dict. of Aus. Words And Terms 🌐 SIR GARNEO, ALL — Excellent.
1935		Detroit Free Press (MI) 14 Apr. 87/2: ‘How’s she go? All Sir garnet?’‘Fine’.
1938		Smith’s Wkly (Sydney) 23 July 18/4: The great Larry looked the applicant over and suggested a try-out. ‘All sir garnet wiv me,’ the lad replied.
1939		Yorks. Eve. Post 1 Dec. 5/5: ‘He’s all Sir Garnet,’ said a man about another in Epsom police court. [...] Asked if that was evidence of character, the man replied, ‘Yes. He’s like me. He likes his drop of wallop’.
1942		Guardian 21 Sept. 3/6: He achieved fame as Sir Garnet Wolsley, and the expression ‘ll Sir Garnet’ was a precursor of ‘O.K.’.
1949		O. Walker Proud Zulu 113: When they wished to express confidence in the outcome of a fight they said ‘everything’s Sir-Garnet’.
1951		D. Stivens Jimmy Brockett 91: That was all Sir Garnet with me, except that I had the breeze up that Ziegler might do his block.
1956		Dly Herald 26 Sept. 6/5: If things are going well, my father says, ‘It’s all Sir Garnet’.
1961		K. Macauliffe [play title] All Sir Garnet.
1967		(ref. to 1950) Observer 22 Oct. 31/4: As recently as 1950, the phrase ‘All Sir garnet’ [...] was still occasionally used.
1993		Sydney Morn. Herald 2 Dec. 12/5: Echoing ‘ship-shape and Bristol fashion’, ‘All Sir Garnet’ was the original phrase.
2001		P. Hinckley Dict. Great War Sl. 🌐 SIGARNEO. Okay. From a corruption of all Sir Garnet, an earlier expression named after Sir Garnet Wolseley (1833–1913), Commander in Chief of the British army from 1895–1899.
2004		bulletin of Newman Theatre Co. (GA) 🌐 A tribute to Wolseley is the fact that a popular phrase even to this day in Britain, when things are all in order or ‘ship shape’ is: things are ‘all Sir Garnet’.