Elbow grease or elbow oil in French is an

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language ...

for

manual labour Manual labour (in Commonwealth English, manual labor in American English) or manual work is physical work done by humans, in contrast to labour by machines and working animals. It is most literally work done with the hands (the word ''manual ...

and the process of working hard to accomplish an objective. It is a

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

for indicating that nothing other than one's own labour is required for a task, capable of being used in a humorous way. Oxford Languages defines “elbow grease” as “hard physical work, especially vigorous polishing or cleaning”

Origins

The first use of the phrase in print was in 1672.

Andrew Marvell Andrew Marvell (; 31 March 1621 – 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, satirist and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1678. During the Commonwealth period he was a colleague and friend ...

, an English metaphysical poet, used the words in a satirical book about English parliament. Marvell wrote: "Two or three brawny Fellows in a Corner, with mere Ink and Elbow-grease, do more Harm than an Hundred systematical Divines with their sweaty Preaching." In 1699, the phrase appeared in the ''New Dictionary of the Canting Crew'' defined as "a derisory Term for Sweat". The phrase had existed for sometime before that, known as "the best substance for polishing furniture".

References

Practical jokes English-language idioms {{Comedy-stub

Origins

See also

References