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waterfront
cover the field
To be thorough and comprehensive in what is presented or dealt with. This thesis will attempt to cover the field of English Law from 1950 to the present.
cover the waterfront
to deal with every detail concerning a specific topic. Her talk really covered the waterfront. By the time she finished, I knew much more than I wanted to know.
cover the waterfront
to deal with all parts of a subject or area of interest, not omitting anything The FBI cannot expect a handful of agents to cover the waterfront in investigating terrorism.
cover the waterfront
(American) to talk about every part of a subject, or to deal with every part of a job It was a mistake to try and cover the waterfront in her talk - one or two points would have been enough. It's obvious one salesman can't cover the waterfront. We'll need a whole team for this area.
cover the field
Also, cover the territory or waterfront . Be comprehensive. For example, The review course will cover the field very well, or Bob's new assignment really covers the territory, or The superintendent's speech covered the waterfront on the drug problem. These expressions all employ the verb cover in the sense of "extend over" or "include," a usage dating from the late 1700s, with the nouns ( field, ground, territory, waterfront) each meaning "whole area."
cover the waterfront
To treat, examine, or include a full range of things: a book that covers the waterfront on starting your own business.