Elbow Grease Is the Only Kind You Supply Yourself
Grease is thick oily matter. The phrase elbow grease is a joke about the one lubricant that requires effort.
Grease is thick oily or fatty matter used as a lubricant. *Elbow grease* has been an English joke since the seventeenth century: the substance that makes things shine is not sold in tins but supplied by hard rubbing. Apprentices were sometimes sent to fetch a tin of it, which is one of the oldest workplace pranks recorded.
- Thick oily matter. *Axle grease.*
- To lubricate. *Grease the hinge.*
- Elbow grease — hard physical effort. *A bit of elbow grease.*
- Grease someone's palm — to bribe. *Greasing palms.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | grease | Engine grease. |
| Verb | grease | Grease the tin. |
| Adjective | greasy | Greasy hands. |
| Related | grease gun | A grease gun. |
| Related | lubricant | A dry lubricant. |
How it is used in a sentence
- It needs some elbow grease.Hard rubbing.
- Grease the tin before baking.Cooking.
- He greased a few palms.Paid bribes.
Grease phrases
- Elbow grease — physical effort
- Grease the wheels — make something run smoothly
- Grease someone's palm — bribe
- Greased lightning — extremely fast
- Greasy pole — a difficult climb to the top, especially in politics
From Old French *graisse*, from Latin *crassus*, thick or fat. The phrase *elbow grease* is recorded from the seventeenth century.
Where does *elbow grease* come from?
From the joke that polishing needs no substance but hard rubbing. It has been in English since the 1600s.
What is the greasy pole?
A metaphor for the difficult climb to political power, from a fairground game with a slippery pole and a prize on top.