Elbow grease

Meaning

Hard physical labor or vigorous effort. It is the secret ingredient to getting a stubborn stain out or a rusty bolt to turn.

Encouraging, practical

Used in a sentence

• This old table just needs a little elbow grease to look brand new again.
• No machine can replace the elbow grease required to scrub these floors.
• Put some elbow grease into that garden bed if you want the roses to thrive.