shoot the works


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® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.