Elbow grease

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Elbow grease is an idiom for manual labor and/or the process of working hard to accomplish an objective. [1]

The earliest evidence of the phrase in print was in 1672. [2] Andrew Marvell, an English metaphysical poet, used the words in a satirical book about English parliament. Marvell wrote: "Two or three brawny Fellows in a Corner, with mere Ink and Elbow-grease, do more Harm than an Hundred systematical Divines with their sweaty Preaching." [3]

Further uses are attested in the 1670s. [4] In 1699, the phrase appeared in the New Dictionary of the Canting Crew defined as "a derisory Term for Sweat". [5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of ELBOW GREASE". www.merriam-webster.com. 2024-09-29. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  2. ↑ "elbow grease, n. meanings, etymology, and more | Oxford English Dictionary".
  3. ↑ Rahe, Paul A. (2002). "An Inky Wretch: The Outrageous Genius of Marchamont Nedham". The National Interest (70): 55–64. ISSN   0884-9382. JSTOR   42897442.
  4. ↑ "elbow | Etymology of elbow by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
  5. ↑ B. E. (1899). A new dictionary of the terms ancient and modern of the canting crew, in its several tribes of Gypsies, beggers, thieves, cheats, &c. with an addition of some proverbs, phrases, figurative speeches, &c. London: Smith, Kay & co. p. 61.


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