give the lot

[takashi]

Hello.

I came across this sentence:
"So the decision boiled down to giving the lot to --- or keeping two agencies."

The content here is about a company struggling to decide on one advertising agency to advertise its products globally, amoung two agencies. It is an order given by its parent company. --- is the name of one ad agency.

Does the sentence mean:
"So the decision boiled down to either giving all the contract to ---, or keeping two agencies"

Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you.

[wunaide]

You have understood correctly. The oft-used phrase "the lot" means "all" or "everything".

eg.

Did you hear about Fred's divorce? His wife got the lot.

A. How many do you want?
B. I'll take the lot.

There's not one good one amongst the lot of them.

etc etc etc

[takashi]

wunaide, thank you for your reply.