work hard or hardly work
- idiom
- Informal
:
trabajar duro o apenas trabajar
- At the company meeting, several employees laughed when the CEO said, 'Do we work hard or hardly work around here?'
Examples
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Do you work hard or hardly work at your new job?
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The phrase 'We work hard or hardly work' is often used to lighten up a busy office.
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Every time my manager walks by, he asks if I work hard or hardly work.
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It's funny how some people work hard or hardly work.
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At the company meeting, the CEO humorously asked, 'Do we work hard or hardly work around here?'
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Every time my manager stops by, he jokingly wonders if I work hard or hardly work.
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During lunch break, my colleague said, 'We all work hard or hardly work depending on the project!'
Antonyms
How Hardworking
- Informal
18
5.4
- Informal
1
4.3
- Informal
- Offensive
9
7.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
work + hard + or + hardly + work
The phrase directly contrasts 'work hard' (to work with effort) and 'hardly work' (to almost not work) by playing on the antonymic forms 'hard' vs 'hardly'; a learner who knows 'work', 'hard', and 'hardly' can infer this humorous meaning. Although it involves wordplay, the meaning is compositional and follows transparent English patterns rather than being idiomatic or unpredictable.
Etymology
Work hard or hardly work plays on the similar sound of work hard and hardly work, making a quick joke by asking if people are 'doing a lot' or 'doing almost nothing'. That's why it is used to tease or lighten a situation about someone's effort.