Idiom
elbow grease
Meanings
Hard physical effort, especially the kind needed to clean, scrub, or fix something by hand.
Definition
Elbow grease means hard physical work and effort, especially when cleaning or fixing something.
Elbow grease is an idiom for strong effort and energetic physical work. It is often used when something needs to be scrubbed, polished, or repaired and the solution is not a special product but hard work. People commonly say it when talking about cleaning, home improvement, or manual tasks.
Examples
- This oven will shine again, but it will take some elbow grease.
- We saved money by using elbow grease instead of hiring a contractor.
- A little soap and a lot of elbow grease got the stains out.
- The old bike isn’t broken; it just needs elbow grease and patience.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes treat it as a real product (like a cleaner) instead of an idiom meaning hard work.
More at B2 level
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- cheap as chips Very cheap; costing very little money.