do the spadework

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Idioms and Phrases

Make the preliminary preparations or do the preliminary research for something. For example, The department head did all the spadework for this agreement . This expression transfers the heavy spading required to prepare for planting to other kinds of preparation. [c. 1900]

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April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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

do the honors do the trick

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