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

And even the peculiar prejudices of the island became grist for the mill once Booster read Austen’s novel and realized that her story of social stratification would map neatly onto his own experiences.

From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2022

Three new polls offer grist for the mill.

From MSNBC • Feb. 1, 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)