grist for the mill

Idioms  

1. Something that can be used to advantage, as in These seemingly useless data will be grist for the mill when he lodges a complaint. This expression alludes to grist, the amount of grain that can be ground at one time. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

The book, after all, was about blindness, so everything was grist for the mill: the struggles and heartaches, as well as the companionship and connection that came from being with other blind people.

From New York Times • Jul. 17, 2023

Over the weekend, two more major pollsters added some grist for the mill.

From MSNBC • May 23, 2016

Every fact, no matter how sordid, whether plucked from the archives or the trash can, should be grist for the mill.

From The Guardian • Oct. 23, 2015

One of the few advantages of being an artist is that everything that happens to you, from good to bad to awful—and especially the awful—is grist for the mill.

From Slate • Nov. 29, 2011

So the fresh grist for the mill, the raw material, if you will, was expedited upon its way to the hoppers; that which already had been ground up was relatively of the smallest consequence.

From Paths of Glory Impressions of War Written at and Near the Front by Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury)