View synonyms for back to the salt mines

back to the salt mines

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Idioms and Phrases

Resume work, usually with some reluctance, as in With my slavedriver of a boss, even on Saturdays it's back to the salt mines . This term alludes to the Russian practice of punishing prisoners by sending them to work in the salt mines of Siberia. Today the term is only used ironically. [Late 1800s] Also see keep one's nose to the grindstone .

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April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

back to the drawing board back to the wall

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