Question

Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone to force oneself to work hard all the time; to always keep busy

Accepted Answer

My grandfather told me that if I wanted to succeed I had better keep my nose to the grindstone. Erasmus, a Dutch scholar, used a similar saying in the 1500s. A grindstone is a revolving stone disk used for polishing or sharpening tools or grinding grain. To see what you're doing while you work a grindstone you have to bend over it with your face close to the stone. The image of a person with his or her "nose to the grindstone" has come to mean working nonstop over a long period of time, often at a long and tiring job. The nose is used in many idioms: "by a nose," "keep your nose clean," "no skin off one's nose" (see page 126), "nose around in something," "nose out of joint," "on the nose," "pay through the nose (see page 144)."

Idiom	Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone
Example	My grandfather told me that if I wanted to succeed I had better keep my nose to the grindstone.
Meaning	to force oneself to work hard all the time; to always keep busy
Origin	Erasmus, a Dutch scholar, used a similar saying in the 1500s. A grindstone is a revolving stone disk used for polishing or sharpening tools or grinding grain. To see what you're doing while you work a grindstone you have to bend over it with your face close to the stone. The image of a person with his or her "nose to the grindstone" has come to mean working nonstop over a long period of time, often at a long and tiring job. The nose is used in many idioms: "by a nose," "keep your nose clean," "no skin off one's nose" (see page 126), "nose around in something," "nose out of joint," "on the nose," "pay through the nose (see page 144)."

Nose Grindstone I Work Long Page Grandfather Told