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]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I told Stewart there could be some Medi-Cal cuts in the works this summer.
From Los Angeles Times
Ghostly acrylic animals dissolve into the background of these pieces, as natural elements attached to the works’ surfaces—sheepskin, cotton, cowhide—obscure just enough of these creatures that it’s impossible to tell what species they are.
And much like the works on display, attendees dared to be visually undefinable.
From Los Angeles Times
“Nimbyism was stopping us from being able to build,” said Annemarie Gray, who served at the New York City Economic Development Corporation when the Sunnyside Yard project was in the works.
"We are fighting together for your jobs with the works council, with the union, and with the Berlin legislature -- I am sure that we will achieve something here".
From Barron's
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.
