Page 17 - Conversation 3

This car is absolutely filthy. You're gonna have to vacuum the insides, clean all the windows,
polish everything – the works!

I need to relax. So, I booked an all-inclusive holiday. I get access to the pools, breakfast, lunch,
dinner, drinks – the works!

Georgie
Wow! So, as we've heard, we can use this in lots of different contexts. But Feifei, in the
examples we've heard, 'the works' usually comes on its own at the end of a list, almost like an
exclamation. Is it always like that?

Feifei
Well, that's definitely the most common way of using it, so yes. We do sometimes hear 'with the
works' when ordering food. For example, when you go to a restaurant, and you want to order a
pizza with all the toppings, you might say 'a large pizza, with the works'.

Georgie
Woah! That sounds very filling. Another similar phrase that people can use in a variety of
contexts is 'the whole shebang'. At the picnic at the weekend, we had the whole shebang – I was
so full I couldn't eat dinner!

Feifei
I'm not surprised! And I did the whole shebang at the spa at the weekend – I felt very pampered.

Georgie
OK, let's recap. We've learned 'the works', which means everything - all the extras that you might
expect in any given situation.

Feifei
If you're looking for more English learning resources, you can find vocabulary, grammar,
reading, listening practice – the works! All on our website: bbclearningenglish.com.

Georgie
Thanks for joining us. Bye!

Feifei
See ya!