A.Word.A.Day --elbow grease

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Mar 29, 2011

This week's theme
Words for body parts used figuratively

This week's words
accolade
elbow grease
pugnacious
dauphin
bumf

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

elbow grease

PRONUNCIATION:

(EL-bo grees)

MEANING:

noun: Hard work; vigorous exertion.

ETYMOLOGY:

Originally elbow grease was a metaphor for manual labor, as in elbow grease is the best wax for polishing furniture. Now in an extended sense it can refer to any effort, physical or mental. Earliest documented use: 1672.

USAGE:

"It comes down a question of who is going to provide the manpower and elbow grease that any project requires."
Bill Crist; Making the Case For An Investment For Manpower; Cameron Herald (Texas); Aug 24, 2009.

See more usage examples of elbow grease in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

No cow's like a horse, and no horse like a cow. That's one similarity, anyhow. -Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

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