roll up one's sleeves

1. Prepare to work, as in When he saw how much snow had fallen he simply rolled up his sleeves and went to find the shovel. This expression, alluding to turning one's sleeves upward to avoid getting them wet or dirty, is used both literally and more loosely, as in the example here.

Example Sentences

“Isn’t that enough reason to come home at the end of the day, roll up one’s sleeves, fire up the stove and start smashing the garlic?”

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One could no more do that than one could roll up one's sleeves and go down into the muck.

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