Elbow grease
English idiom to describe hard work
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elbow grease is an idiom for manual labor and/or the process of working hard to accomplish an objective.[1]
Look up elbow grease in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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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]
