to work to the bone
- idiom
- Informal
:
trabajar hasta el agotamiento
- She was worked to the bone and about fit for burying herself.
Examples
-
They certainly must not be worked to the bone so as to be denied the leisure to think through problems and options, examine all angles and implications, and recall past experience.
Academic text (1991) -
Keeps the quality up because forcing yourself to cut work to the bone means you throw out all the chaff that ultimately wasn't that great or doesn't really matter.
Blog text (18) -
I got that kid working to the bone, but look, I'm...
-
Working to the bone, and then down on his knees, every week, praying to God that the next life will be better.
-
These places are prisons, and we're packed in there like sardines, fed cheap slop, and worked to the bone 14 hours a day.
-
After a long day at the factory, I felt like I had been worked to the bone by the end of my shift.
-
He constantly works to the bone to provide for his family, often leaving him exhausted.
-
Many employees feel worked to the bone during the holiday season, trying to meet the increased demand.
Synonyms
60
3.7
To work hard for a long time at a dull or repeated task
35
5.3
To work very hard for a long time
26
2.7
To work hard on difficult physical tasks
13
8.4
Try very hard for a long time to do something
8
3.4
Spend a lot of time doing hard, tiring tasks
5
4.8
To work hard for a long time on something
5
6.7
To work hard for a long time on a task that is difficult or tiring
4
7.4
Do very hard, long jobs until you are very tired
3
4.8
Try very hard for some time
1
7.7
To work hard for a long time on a difficult task without stopping
1
5.9
To try very hard and do anything to achieve something
1
3.6
To use a lot of energy to do a hard job for a long time
1
9.9
To work very hard, often at a physical or long job
To work very hard at something until you are very tired
To work very hard doing physical or unpleasant jobs for a long time
To work on a task with a lot of energy for a long time
Antonyms
How Hard
- Informal
47
5.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
work + to + the + bone
The combination pairs the transparent verb 'work' with the metaphorical phrase 'to the bone' where 'bone' signals intensity or thoroughness; a learner who knows the literal words may get a general sense of extreme effort but not the exact idea of working until exhaustion. The figurative use of 'to the bone' is partly predictable but requires prior exposure to this metaphor, so it is not fully transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Work to the bone may come from the picture of someone who works so hard that only the bone seems left, as if they have no strength left. That's why the phrase means 'to work extremely hard', often until you are 'exhausted'.