elbow grease
7
4.1
- noun
- /ˈɛlboʊ ɡris/
- Informal
- You will need some elbow grease to move those heavy boxes into the new house.
- a little elbow grease
- a lot of elbow grease
- a bit of elbow grease
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Watch on YouTubeAnd this is simply dirt and elbow grease.
- And this is simply dirt and elbow grease.
- Serendipity is greatly helped by by elbow grease.
Examples
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I used cleaning vinegar, baking soda, and a bit of elbow grease.
Blog text (20) -
Cleaning this old car requires a lot of elbow grease to restore its shine.
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This is going to take some serious elbow grease.
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It's not stuck, just use your elbow grease.
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Just put some elbow grease into it.
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You have to use elbow grease.
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The best way to clean your boots is good old-fashioned water and a bit of elbow grease.
Blog text (13) -
The house was in terrible disrepair, but nothing that a few NAILS... and some old-fashioned elbow grease couldn't fix.
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Removing the stubborn stain from the carpet took some elbow grease and determination.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Use of physical or mental energy to try to do something
41
2.3
Hard work that needs a lot of effort
23
5.0
Strong physical or mental effort that makes you tired
11
8.8
Hard work that needs a lot of effort and causes pain
Antonyms
How Much Effort
Surface Forms
Morphology
elbow + grease
The phrase uses a metonymic/metaphorical image (using one's elbows for vigorous rubbing) rather than a literal combination of 'elbow' + 'grease', so the connection to 'hard physical effort' is indirect. A B1 learner who knows the component words may sense a physical/action-related meaning but would not reliably derive the idiomatic sense without prior exposure, so it is partially but not fully predictable.
Etymology
Elbow grease comes from a simple picture: someone cleaning or polishing by rubbing hard with their elbow, and joking that the work needs a kind of grease from that effort. That's why the phrase means 'hard physical effort'.