through the mill

1. Hardship or rough treatment, as in They put him through the mill, making him work at every one of the machines, or Jane was exhausted; she felt she'd been through the mill. This term alludes to being ground down like grain in a mill. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

"I've been through the mill to even get on the plane," says Knight.

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It was a nice 6-1 - you can expect to come here and have a 6-4 or 6-5 and go through the mill a little bit, but none of that at all.

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His tone was that of a man who had been through the mill.

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“I hope the finding brings some comfort to them because they’ve all been through the mill and back,” she added.

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Ferrari have put Charles Leclerc through the mill in the past few years - and at times vice versa, too, it has to be said - but the driver some in Formula 1 believe to be the fastest of all over one lap says his commitment to a future with the Italian team is absolute.

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