hammer away at
Keep at something continuously, as in The reporters hammered away at the candidate. This phrase employs hammer in the sense of “beat repeatedly,” a usage dating from the mid-1600s.
Nearby words
hammarskjöld, hammarskjöld, dag, hammer, hammer and sickle, hammer and tongs, hammer away at, hammer beam, hammer blow, hammer drill, hammer finger, hammer mill
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.