How did "the works" come to mean "everything"?

Question

What is the etymology of "the works" meaning "everything", as in "a pizza with the works"?

user 66974 · Accepted Answer

The expression is from AmE slang:
From American Heritage Dictionary:
the works

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]

From Green’s Dictionary of Slang
the works:

1899–1900 [US]    C.L. Cullen Tales of the Ex-Tanks 133: Costumes, street apparel, and the whole works for the presentation of ‘Shakespearian repertoire.’.

1906  [US]    C. M’Govern Sarjint Larry an’ Frinds 24: Oi [...] had de whole works clamped tight around his head.

niamulbengali · Answer

Apparently, "works" meant "all the parts of a machine"; it was often used as "the works":

Works—the parts of a machine, especially those that move
If you take the back off this clock, you can see its/the works.
— CED

According to Dictionary.com, "the works" is a modified version of "works" that was promoted from mechanic lingo:

This usage derives from works in the sense of “a complete set of parts for a machine or mechanism.” [Colloquial; late 1800s]

Thanks to mechanics, you can say,

I want a pizza with the works.

Brandon · Answer

'work' is a word with multiple meanings. one of the meanings is a piece of work like a piece of work of Tolstoy and the many pieces of work are called 'the works' like the collected/complete works of Tolstoy. So collected ones, everything.

Answered by Brandon on January 2, 2021

How did "the works" come to mean "everything"?

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