🗓️ Idiom: Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone (exp)
💬 Meaning
- Work hard and consistently for a long time
- Focus completely on the task without distraction
🧠 Example Sentences
- She kept her nose to the grindstone and finished the client reports ahead of schedule.
- During the busy season, our whole team had to keep their noses to the grindstone.
- If we keep our noses to the grindstone now, we’ll finish the project by Friday.
🏛️ Origin
This phrase comes from the image of a worker sharpening tools on a grindstone. Putting one’s nose close to the wheel symbolizes close attention and hard effort. It has been used since the 1500s to mean working steadily and seriously.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
If we ____________________, we can meet the product launch deadline.
Answer
keep our noses to the grindstone
2. Choose the correct meaning:
What does “keep your nose to the grindstone” mean?
a) Take frequent breaks from work
b) Work hard and stay focused
c) Argue with your colleagues
Answer
b) Work hard and stay focused
3. Change the sentence using “keep your nose to the grindstone”:
“We need to work very hard to finish everything before the meeting.”
Answer
We need to keep our noses to the grindstone to finish everything before the meeting.
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