peg away at

Idioms  

1. Also, plug away at. Work steadily, persist, as in She pegged away at the tax return until she'd finished, or If we keep plugging away at it, the painting will soon be done. These idioms allude to the persistence required to fasten something by driving pegs or seal something by driving a plug. Peg away dates from the early 1800s plug away from the mid-1900s.

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Example Sentences

How he’d pull out his little hammer and peg away at these wonderful rocks!

From Dorothy on a Ranch by Raymond, Evelyn

Thus the sensitive artist, for the sake of his ideal, will peg away at the forlorn hope, and, sustained by the spirit, may bring off the thousand-to-one chance.

From Spirit and Music by Hunt, H. Ernest

Well, other briefless barristers peg away at journalism, and political agency work, and coaching, and studying.

From Winding Paths by Page, Gertrude

"Let's peg away at this till the chops come," cried Mr. Dundyke.

From Mildred Arkell, Volume II (of 3) A Novel by Wood, Mrs. Henry

And to have to do it every day for a whole term, and peg away at scales and arpeggios!

From The Girls of St. Cyprian's A Tale of School Life by Brazil, Angela