elbow grease

noun

1. strenuous physical exertion.

   a job requiring elbow grease.

elbow grease

noun

1. facetious,  vigorous physical labour, esp hard rubbing

elbow grease

1. Strenuous physical effort: “If you're going to get this job done, you'll need to apply a little elbow grease.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of elbow grease¹

First recorded in 1630–40

Idioms and Phrases

Strenuous physical effort, as in You'll have to use some elbow grease to get the house painted in time. This term alludes to vigorous use of one's arm in cleaning, polishing, or the like. It soon was extended to any kind of hard work, and Anthony Trollope used it still more figuratively (Thackeray, 1874): “Forethought is the elbow-grease which a novelist ... requires.” [First half of 1600s]