nose to the grindstone

English

William Hogarth's 1741 Enraged Musician, including a stooped grinder working his treadle

William Elmes's 1814 political cartoon "John Bull Bringing Bony's Nose to the Grindstone"

Etymology

From the literal action of intensely working a grindstone, whether powered by a treadle or waterwheel. The expression initially implied punishment or abusive management, forcing the worker into intense work, and was used in the anonymous 1557 translation of Erasmus's Merry Dialogue as a hyperbolic punishment threatened for an abusive husband. It was later adapted to forcing oneself into similarly intense effort.

Noun

nose to the grindstone (plural noses to the grindstone or noses to grindstones)

1. (idiomatic, obsolete) Used to form idioms meaning "to force someone to work hard or to focus intensely upon their work".
   • a. 1533, John Frith, A Mirrour or Glasse to Know Thyselfe, sig. Avi v:

     This Text holdeth their noses so hard to the grynde stone that it clean disfigureth their faces.

   • 1546, John Heywood, A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue, sig. Bii:

     I shall to reuenge former hurts,
     Hold their noses to grinstone.

   • 1786, Robert Burns, Poems, page 188:

     Be to the Poor like onie whunstane,
     And haud their noses to the grunstane.

2. (idiomatic) Used to form idioms meaning "to force oneself to work hard or to focus intensely upon one's work".
   • 1828, Lights & Shades of English Life, volume II, page 13:

     People whose heads are a little up in the world, have no occasion to keep their nose to the grindstone.

   • 1886 [1882], Henry James, The Point of View‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.:

     I travelled energetically; I went everywhere and saw everything; took as many letters as possible, and made as many acquaintances. In short, I held my nose to the grindstone.

   • 2001 August 26, Garrison Keillor, “In Search of Lake Wobegon”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Thirty years ago, I lived in Stearns County with my wife and little boy in a rented farmhouse south of Freeport, an area of nose-to-the-grindstone German Catholics proud of their redneck reputation.

Usage notes

Variously placed after the verbs keep, put, bring, have, hold, &c. or used as a substantive adjective.

Synonyms

• (apply oneself): see strive

Translations

Translations

• Finnish: niska limassa (fi) (with paiskia/painaa töitä, raataa, etc.), herkeämättä, hartiavoimin
• German: sich dahinterklemmen, sich abschinden, sich abrackern (de)
• Italian: lavoratore incallito m, lavoratore indefesso m
• Spanish: dar el callo, andar a la brega

Adverb

nose to the grindstone (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Hard at work.

   Nose to the grindstone, he was up all night.

Synonyms

• head down, bum up (UK)

References

• “grindstone, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.
• Helterbran, Valeri R. Exploring Idioms (2008), p. 67.
• Lee, Kaiman. Cartoon-Illustrated Metaphors (2004), p. 84.