hammer away at
Save This Word!
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Words nearby hammer away at
Hammarskjöld, Hammarskjöld, Dag, hammer, hammer and sickle, hammer and tongs, hammer away at, hammerbeam, hammer blow, hammercloth, hammer drill, hammered
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.