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Definition of elbow grease
: hard work
There is just no substitution for the elbow grease involved in promotion. You just have to get out there and work hard to get the word to the stores that the book is available.— Andy Shafran especially : vigorously applied physical labor or effort Best of all, the metal handle is bendable, making it easy to defat liquids of varying depths. Kudos to a kitchen tool that spares elbow grease. — Grace Young
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Examples of elbow grease in a Sentence
It's going to take some elbow grease to get this counter clean.
with a little polish and a lot of elbow grease, I was able to make the old silver teapot shine again
Recent Examples on the Web Conditioning an in-ground planter takes about as much sweat and elbow grease as an unconstructed bed.
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Christy Willhelmi, Sunset Magazine, "During Quarantine, Build This Super Simple Raised Bed to Maximize Your Garden— Safely," 8 Apr. 2020 For specific scuffs or marks, try taking a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to them with a little elbow grease.
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Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, "How to Clean Your Luggage After a Trip, Because Germs," 20 Apr. 2020 Noyman’s crews do use cloth and elbow grease to clean, but their core business involves more specialized equipment.
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Michael Schulson, Scientific American, "The Nation Paralyzed by a Pathogen, Deep Cleaners Have Their Day," 27 Mar. 2020 Use a little elbow grease to get rid of any oil residue or fingerprints.
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Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "How to Clean Stainless Steel Appliances and Sinks," 21 Jan. 2020 At Nats Park, the Enchant team is prepared to pull out 40 shovels, and because salt can damage a baseball diamond, elbow grease is the team’s first and last line of defense against Mother Nature.
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Hayley Glatter, Popular Mechanics, "The Tiny Technical Miracles Inside the World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze," 24 Dec. 2019 Luckily, they can easily be rubbed away with some elbow grease.
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Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, "How to Clean Hardwood Floors the Right Way," 23 Jan. 2020 Chasing them are Senators Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, both sleepers who have made the effort to build impressive political machines in the state but whose numbers do not correspond with their elbow grease.
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Philip Elliott / Creston, Time, "Biden's Holiday Pitch to Iowa: I'm the Best Candidate to Beat Trump," 23 Dec. 2019 Assemble and serve: Using either an electric mixer on medium or a whisk and elbow grease, whisk heavy cream and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.
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The New York Times News Service Syndicate, The Denver Post, "Desserts that bring the party, but not the fuss," 21 Dec. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'elbow grease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for elbow grease
The first known use of elbow grease was in 1672
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