elbow grease

See also: elbow-grease

English

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Noun

elbow grease (uncountable)

  1. (idiomatic) Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing.
    Synonym: elbow juice
    • 1864, Henry Wells Holly, chapter 3, in The Art of Saw-Filing, page 12:
      It is astonishing what miserable saws are sometimes used by mechanics, or those claiming to be such. The only way they can be coaxed or driven through the wood is by having an enormous set, a liberal use of oil, and another lubricator called elbow-grease.
    • 1879, Anthony Trollope, chapter 5, in William Makepeace Thackeray:
      When we were young we used to be told, in our house at home, that "elbow-grease" was the one essential necessary to getting a tough piece of work well done. If a mahogany table was to be made to shine, it was elbow-grease that the operation needed.
    • 2019 Sunny, "Violet's Adventure", Sunny Day
      Some soapy water and a little elbow grease and we'll have the Glam Van clean in no time.

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