shoot the works

shoot the works idiom
Expend all one's efforts or capital, as in He's broke after shooting the works on that new office building. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s] Also see the works.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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