dirty work

American  

noun

1. disagreeable, often tedious tasks.

2. any illegal or dishonest dealing.

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dirty work Idioms  

1. An unpleasant, distasteful, or thankless task or job. For example, Jane complained that she had to do all the dirty work while her colleagues took long vacations. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

And then the dirty work for 2028 would begin.

From Slate • Apr. 30, 2026

Some of that dirty work, however, is moving to Europe as Mr. Orbán looks to make Hungary an EV hub and Asian battery manufacturers move production abroad to offset tariff risks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Cybersecurity experts are warning that artificial intelligence agents, widely considered the next frontier in the generative AI revolution, could wind up getting hijacked and doing the dirty work for hackers.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

David Philips, a senior NCA investigator, said "organised criminals like Emmanuel-Thomas" used persuasion and payment to get people to do their dirty work.

From BBC • May 24, 2025

I liked reading about explorers planting flags all over the New World and I marveled how they never looked mussed up in their pictures, although I thought exploring must be dirty work.

From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz