VOA词汇掌故2024--Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone

And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.

Learning a language is difficult. Sometimes it requires a plan and resources. But it also usually requires hard work. People who persist with their language goals often get good results. They keep working even through hard times. They keep their nose to the grindstone.

When you keep your nose to the grindstone, you work very hard for a long time at something. You don't give up.

How do we use this idiom in daily life? How did it come to mean perseverance¹? And just what is a grindstone? We answer all these questions on today's show.

First, let's talk about a grindstone. A grindstone is a large stone circular stone with a hole in the middle. An axle fits through that hole. When the stone turns quickly on the axle, it can sharpen, shape, or smooth a tool.

And that brings us to the beginnings of this idiom.

On his website Phrase Finder, writer and language researcher Gary Martin suggests two possible beginnings. Both are set in work environments of long ago: a place for milling grain and a place for sharpening tools.

Some online sources claim that keeping your nose to the grindstone comes from milling grain. If the stone got too hot while grinding, it could burn the grain. So, workers would have to keep their noses close to the stone and smell for any sign of burning.

However, word expert Martin says that doesn't seem true. He claims that these mills used millstones. So, if this story were true, we would say keep your nose to the millstone. But we don't.

He also notes that the terms "millstone" and "grindstone" were used interchangeably hundreds of years ago. But then, at some point long ago, that stopped. Grain mills used millstones and not grindstones. And vice² versa - tool sharpening workshops used grindstones and not millstones.

So, let's talk about the explanation set in a tool sharpening workshop. Martin talks about old workshops in his area of England. He says these workshops have benches very near to grinding stones. Workers would sit on the benches hunched⁴ over and work very hard and very long. He goes on to write the following:

"They had to pay close attention to their work as a moment too long on the wheel could cause the steel to overheat and be ruined."

Martin guesses that this story is the more likely explanation. Imagine being hunched over your work and working hard at it. That describes having your nose to the grindstone.

In some cases, we also say put your nose to the grindstone. We may say it this way if we give someone advice. For example, "You need to put your nose to the grindstone if you're going to finish this project on time."

Now let's hear another example.

A: Have you seen Marisa lately? She hasn't called or texted in weeks!

B: I was worried about her too. But the other day, I ran into her co-worker. She said Marisa has her nose to the grindstone trying to finish her year-end report.

A: Oh I forgot about that! In that case, let's take her some dinner. She never eats when she's busy with work.

B: Good idea! I'll make my famous pasta and meatballs.

If I had to pick an opposite of this idiom, it would be this one: All work and no play makes Jack⁵ a dull boy.

Life can't be all about work. So, if you've been keeping your nose to the grindstone, remember to take a break.

And that's all the time we have this Words and Their Stories.

Words in This Story

persist - v. to continue to do something in spite of opposition⁶, warnings, or pleas

idiom - n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be learned as a whole

perseverance - n. continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition

axle - n. a pin, pole, or bar on or with which a wheel revolves⁷

mill - v. Milling transforms grain into flour for food preparation. : - n. A mill is where grain is processed into flour.

vice versa - adv. with the order changed : with the relations reversed

bench - n. a long seat for two or more persons

hunch³ over phrasal verb to bend one's body into an arch or hump

opposite - adj. as different as possible

dull - adj. mentally slow

1 perseverance   

n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠

参考例句：

• It may take some perseverance to find the right people.要找到合适的人也许需要有点锲而不舍的精神。
• Perseverance leads to success.有恒心就能胜利。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

4 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

5 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 revolves   

v.（使）旋转( revolve的第三人称单数 )；细想

参考例句：

• The earth revolves both round the sun and on its own axis. 地球既公转又自转。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Thus a wheel revolves on its axle. 于是，轮子在轴上旋转。 来自《简明英汉词典》