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no rest for the weary

no rest for the weary

8.2
Tired people must keep working or dealing with problems without a break
  • idiom
translation icon : sin descanso para los cansados
  • With three children and a full-time job, there's truly no rest for the weary.

Examples

  • Working late into the night, she sighed, "no rest for the weary."

  • There is no rest for the weary after a long day at work!

  • After finishing the big project, he realized there was no rest for the weary as another task awaited.

  • Despite being exhausted, she found no rest for the weary during the project.

  • After finishing the big project, he realized there was no rest for the weary as another task awaited.

  • With three children and a full-time job, there's truly no rest for the weary.

  • Working late into the night, she sighed, "no rest for the weary."

Synonyms

all the hours God sends
vsno rest for the weary
  • UK
9.9

Do something, especially work, for very long periods without rest

focuses on continuing despite exhaustion rather than using every available moment
no rest for the wicked
vsno rest for the weary
  • Informal
7.6

People say this when they have a lot of work and little rest

expresses continuing despite tiredness rather than joking about workload
to keep one's shoulder to the wheel
vsno rest for the weary
  • Informal
7.7

To work hard and continue when things are difficult

continues working despite exhaustion rather than focusing on effort
the last dog is hung
vsno rest for the weary
  • Archaic
9.9

To keep trying until everything is finished no matter how long it takes

focuses on continuing while exhausted rather than persisting until completion

Antonyms

1.0

A short rest from work or activity

703 1.0

A period when you stop activity to relax or sleep

How Rested

rested
1.0
no rest for the weary
8.2
tired
1.0
exhausted
104 2.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

no + rest + for + the + weary

The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from the constituents: 'no' (not any) + 'rest' (a break) + 'for the weary' (for tired people), so it literally states that tired people get no rest. This straightforward grammatical structure and common lexical meanings make the message predictable for a B1 learner who knows the component words.

Etymology

The saying no rest for the weary gives a clear picture: someone so weary, meaning very tired, who never gets rest, meaning a break. That's why people use it to say 'even tired people must keep working or dealing with problems without a break'.