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Say two people are talking about relationships A and B.

A is complaining to B that her relationship isn't going well because she and her boyfriend have many differences, that they do not have much in common.

B turns to A and says "Someone might have all the things that we like but if they lack one thing then the relationship doesn't work out. They have to be a complete package."

I think B's phrase is clunky and "A complete package" may not even be the best term to describe someone with all the qualities we like. Can anyone change this phrase and show me how to say the same thing in a less clunky way?

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    The idiom is "the complete package".
    – SamBC
    Mar 7, 2019 at 21:49
  • So there isn't another way to say that but that way?
    – Kaique
    Mar 7, 2019 at 21:53
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    B sounds like a very shallow person.
    – Michael Harvey
    Mar 7, 2019 at 21:57
  • Hahaha, I think B is telling the truth sometimes one thing might ruin everything they have to be the complete package. @Michael Harvey
    – Kaique
    Mar 7, 2019 at 22:02

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As @SamBC says, you use the, not a. I don't think it sounds clunky; it's a common idiom. See Wiktionary for other expressions that are more or less synonymous: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whole_package

whole package

real deal

total package

whole nine yards

whole shebang

whole enchilada

whole kit and caboodle

etc. Some of these might sound silly in general, especially when talking about a person (I probably wouldn't describe a person as "the whole kit and caboodle", for example).

See also https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Mister_Right , where you can find synonyms for "the perfect guy," in case this is what you have in mind:

Mister Right

Prince Charming

etc.

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