yeoman's service

American  

Or yeoman service

noun

1. good, useful, or workmanlike service.

   His trusty sword did him yeoman's service.

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Etymology

Origin of yeoman's service

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Luther's famous reply to Erasmus On the Bondage of the Will is made to do yeoman's service in this respect.

From Luther Examined and Reexamined A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation by Dau, W. H. T. (William Herman Theodore)

With that keen intuition which has done him yeoman's service in the political arena, Mr Lessingham at once perceived the direction my thoughts were taking.

From The Beetle by Marsh, Richard

Yet there occurred opportunities when this odd lumber of my brain, especially that which was connected with the recondite parts of history, did me, as Hamlet says, "yeoman's service."

From Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume I (of 10) by Lockhart, J. G. (John Gibson)

Augustine was the ablest of the early Christian fathers and he did yeoman's service in laying broad and deep the foundations of the Christian church and in defending it against the heretics.

From Comfort Found in Good Old Books by Fitch, George Hamlin

In honest truth, it will do me yeoman's service.

From Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Volume V (of 10) by Lockhart, J. G. (John Gibson)