the works
Idioms-
Everything, the full range of possibilities, as in He ordered a pizza with the works , or All right, tell me, give me the works on it . This usage derives from works in the sense of “a complete set of parts for a machine or mechanism.” [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]
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A beating or other severe treatment. This usage is often put as give someone the works , as in They took him outside and gave him the works . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
