Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone

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Meaning:

Keep Your Nose to the Grindstone means to apply yourself conscientiously to your work, paying close attention, working hard.

“Keep your nose to the grindstone”

Origin:

The saying comes from the practice of skilled knife sharpeners when they are sharpening blades and holding the blades edge against the stone, they are bent over the stone, with their faces near the grindstone.

Tool sharpening workshops would have benches where grinders would sit hunched over the grinding stones. 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. They literally had their noses to the grindstone.

The first known citation is John Frith's A Mirrour or Glasse to know thyselfe, 1532:

"This Text holdeth their noses so hard to the grindstone, that it clean disfigureth their faces."

Example:

The phrase has been used since, as a way of saying that you have to pay attention and get the job done. We still use it the same way today. An example sentence is:

“I've got to keep my nose to the grindstone if I'm going to get this promotion.”

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