all squared off

[amonty1144]

In a recent discussion at home, my husband and I were trying to find the origin of the term 'all squared off', we thought it was military, any ideas?

[Quizmonster]

It may have come from any situation or profession in which having things at right angles was seen as important...eg the military, as you say, but equally of carpentry, building and so on.
As a matter of interest, it was at one time also used to mean much what we mean nowadays when we say 'square up'. This is not in the 'settle a bill' meaning but in the 'getting ready to fight' meaning. "The two men squared off" would suggest that they raised their fists and faced each other.
Your use of 'all' before the 'squared off' would definitely suggest the idea of finishing some form of construction accurately, however.

[scousejones]

I do think that the saying has a military origin, for in the early days of the British Empire, British regiments formed squares before battle, so if the opposing f force also formed squares, they could be said to be all squared up.
See the second verse of Henry Newbolt's poem, Vitae Lampada.
When I joined the RM in 1938, the drill structure was based on 4-ranks, and the most satisfying movements were forming fours, and forming two deep on the March..
Carrying out the movements always seemed to leave me with the feeling of having formed a square, and then the reverse.
It may sound a bit complicated, but I feel sure that all you clever people will understand what I mean.