Elbow grease
Look up elbow grease in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Elbow grease is an idiom for manual labour 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
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Definition of ELBOW GREASE". www.merriam-webster.com. 2024-09-29. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ "elbow grease, n. meanings, etymology, and more | Oxford English Dictionary".
- ^ Rahe, Paul A. (2002). "An Inky Wretch: The Outrageous Genius of Marchamont Nedham". The National Interest (70): 55–64. ISSN 0884-9382. JSTOR 42897442.
- ^ "elbow | Etymology of elbow by etymonline". www.etymonline.com. Retrieved 2024-10-07.
- ^ 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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