Pulling out all the stop

So, I will tell you one thing that grinds my gears:

And that is the phrase "pulling out all the stops."

Thing is, right, being an organist of some knowledge and ability it is clear to me that this phrase doesn't mean what it is supposed to mean. You are supposed to believe the "pulling out all the stop" means going to the furthest extreme or putting in the maximum effort. That kind of thing. However there is no situation on the organ when you actually want to pull out all the stops.

For those of you that may not be so familiar, a stop is sort of like one instrument inside a pipe organ. It is like one set of pipes. Maybe one stop has massive round pipes, and another stop has thin square shaped pipes. Some stops are really loud, some are quiet and delicate. But all the stops are powered by the same bellows. So, if you want to play the organ at its loudest, and most spectacular, then you don't want to pull out all the stops. What would happen is that some of the air will go into the pantsy quiet stops that nobody could hear anyway over the din of the massive loud pipes. This has the effect of taking air away from the loud stops and making them quieter. If you want to play as loud as possible, then you want to choose the loud stops and pull out only those.

Being instructed up to play and enjoy the repertoire of English organ music of people like Herbert Howells and Hubert Parry (as featured in the royal wedding) my favourite organ stop is the open diapason, which I have just learned can by referred to as labial pipes. I certainly don't go in for any of that fannying about with dulcianas of gambas as in the French style.

Hat

In conclusion, pulling out all the stops will make lots of noise, but less is more.