All sewn up

Origin of: All sewn up

All sewn up

If something is sewn up or all sewn up it means completed or finished and is an American colloquialism from the late 19th/early 20th century deriving from completing the simple domestic chore of sewing. Bogus etymologies would have us believe it derives from sewing dead sailors into weighted canvas bags prior to burial at sea, but this origin has not been substantiated.