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Definition of Elbow grease
1. Noun. Use of physical or mental energy; hard work. "They managed only with great exertion"
Generic synonyms: Labor, Labour, Toil
Specialized synonyms: Struggle, Difficulty, Trouble, Least Effort, Least Resistance, Strain, Straining, Exercise, Exercising, Physical Exercise, Physical Exertion, Workout, Pull, Application, Diligence, Overkill, Supererogation, Overexertion, Detrition, Friction, Rubbing
Derivative terms: Exert, Travail
Definition of Elbow grease
1. Noun. (idiomatic) Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Elbow Grease
Literary usage of Elbow grease
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Publications by English Dialect Society (1886)
"elbow grease, s. hard work. Leigh gives, in illustration of this word, ...
One hears it said sometimes that there is nothing like elbow grease for polishing ..."
2. The Dialect of Craven: In the West-Riding of the County of York by William Carr (1828)
"ELBOW-GREASE, Persevering exercise of the arms, exciting perspiration. "
elbow grease will make an oak table shine." Grose. " It had no elbow grease ..."
3. A Glossary of Words Used in the Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham by Edward Peacock (1889)
"elbow grease.—Energetic manual labour. It's all reight noo, an' wants noht bud
elbow grease to mak' it trundle ; said by a carpenter of a wheel-barrow which ..."
4. From log-cabin to White house: the story of president Garfield's life by William Makepeace Thayer (1884)
"repeated James; " what's elbow- grease ?" " It is sweat, that is pouring out of
you now, Jimmy," the carpenter replied. " Can't do much at planing without ..."
5. The slang dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal by John Camden Hotten (1874)
"elbow grease, labour, or industry. Anything that is rusty, or in household work
dirty or dingy, is said to require elbow grease. ..."
6. A Glossary of Words Used in the Dialect of Cheshire by Egerton Leigh (1877)
"L. elbow grease, s.—Hard work. ... daughter was a hard worker and did not spare
the " elbow- grease," who, however, after marriage became lazy and indolent. ..."
7. Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases by Anne Elizabeth Baker (1854)
"Give it plenty of elbow- grease,'" is a common direction to a servant ... I borrow
the following illustrations from the Craven Glossarist: Elbow-grease will ..."
8. Lakeland Words: A Collection of Dialect Words and Phrases, as Used in by B. Kirkby (1898)
"ELBOW-GREASE—Noo than what; We o' know what elbow grease is when it's runnin'
off yan's broo, and happen droppin' inta yan's e'e ..."
Other Resources:
