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

See Examples For:

peg away at

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 Angela Brazil

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

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

For the moment, I must peg away at what I have in hand—biggish stuff, I fear, in bulk and possible unserialisability, to saddle you withal.

From The Letters of Henry James (volume I) by Henry James

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

From Dorothy on a Ranch by Evelyn Raymond

"Oh! well, you'll only peg away at it when you've a mind," said Alexia carelessly, and setting lazy stitches.

From Five Little Peppers Midway by Margaret Sidney