Meaning of nose to the grindstone | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Used to form idioms meaning "to force someone to work hard or to focus intensely upon their work".
   idiomatic, obsolete
2. Used to form idioms meaning "to force oneself to work hard or to focus intensely upon one's work".
   idiomatic

Examples

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

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

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

CEFR level