work one's fingers to the bone

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

work one's fingers to the bone (third-person singular simple present works one's fingers to the bone, present participle working one's fingers to the bone, simple past and past participle worked one's fingers to the bone)

1. (idiomatic) To work especially hard, usually for an extended period.

   Synonym: toil

   • 1983, “Get Down Saturday Night”, in Saturday Night, performed by Oliver Cheatham:

     You work all week long / You work your fingers to the bone / Friday's at an end / I can't wait for Saturday to begin

Translations

Translations

• Finnish: tehdä töitä niska limassa, rehkiä niska limassa, raataa niska limassa
• French: travailler comme un forcené, travailler comme un forçat, travailler comme un nègre (fr)
• Italian: lavorare fino alla stremo, rompersi la schiena, ammazzarsi di lavoro
• Polish: harować jak wół (pl) impf
• Swedish: slita häcken av sig (literally, "toil one's bum off")