pick-and-shovel

[ pik-uhn-shuhv-uhl ]

/ ˈpɪk ənˈʃʌv əl /

adjective

marked by drudgery; laborious: the pick-and-shovel work necessary to get a political campaign underway.

QUIZZES

DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?

Question 1 of 11

Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?

owl

crow

piranha

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of pick-and-shovel

First recorded in 1890–95

Words nearby pick-and-shovel

pickaback plant, pick a bone with, pick and choose, pick and mix, pick-and-roll, pick-and-shovel, pickaninny, pick apart, pick a quarrel, pickaroon, pick at

Example sentences from the Web for pick-and-shovel

The professor was not a success as a pick-and-shovel man, though he did his best.
The Lookout Man|B. M. Bower
And it can be said that never labourer proved himself more worthy of his hire than the pick-and-shovel man of those early days.
The Trail of '98|Robert W. Service
Did you catch and hold the pick-and-shovel men from this camp?
Empire Builders|Francis Lynde
Winton was in the thick of the pick-and-shovel melee, urging it on, when Biggin ran up.
A Fool For Love|Francis Lynde

Up from the gravelly, pick-and-shovel labor of the new-made grave it lifts its weirdly magnetic eyes to the Widow's tears.
The Indiscreet Letter|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

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