Go back to the grindstone ... (2024)

Hi guys ,

"Go back to the grindstone "

Is this idiom common ?

I guess it does not sound good for a native speaker ,

Do you mean, "Back to the drawing board?" "Back to the salt mines?"

I've never heard your version.

Stele, please provide some context. Where did you hear this? Who said it? What were the circumstances surrounding its being said?

There is a phrase regarding putting your nose to the grindstone but not "go back to the grindstone". Please help us to help you.

STELE said:

Hi guys ,

"Go back to the grindstone "

Is this idiom common ?

I guess it does not sound good for a native speaker ,

Click to expand...

In what context did you hear this ... or would you want to use it?

"Go back to the grindstone," is strange as a directive/command.

"Ah well, back to the grindstone," is familiar. It's the kind of thing someone might say when returning to work after a break.
It is an allusion to keeping one's nose to the grindstone - working continuously and hard.

I've heard it before (or maybe just read it), but it's not common in conversation where I'm from. It just means to resume work on something, especially if arduous, after a break.

"Keep one's nose to the grindstone" is a more common idiom, but not by much.

zăpadă said:

Hi guys ,

"Go back to the grindstone "

Is this idiom common ?

I guess it does not sound good for a native speaker ,

Click to expand...

I realize this post is a few years old, but it's the first result when searching the quote on Google, so I wanted to chime in:

This idiom is somewhat old-fashioned, but it is readily understood and recognized by most native English speakers. It is most often used among older and working class people.
It means "to return to work" / "to return to a tedious task". A related idiom is "put your nose to the grindstone" or simply "nose to the grindstone!" which means "to intensely concentrate on one's work" especially where that work is boring or tedious.

Although the idiom implies that a task is tedious, it does so in a lighthearted, almost joking manner, so the idiom is not harsh or insulting and is safe to use to describe returning to any task without risk of offending the listener.

Hope that helps!

Emma Cassidy said:

We say this in England all the time. Especially when having to return to work after a holiday period or having to go back to something you don't want to do after having fun. "Oh well, back to the grindstone!" is common

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Is "Back to the grindstone" common in american english or just british english?

Tuan Vu said:

Is "Back to the grindstone" common in american english or just british english?

Click to expand...

They're well known in the US, both "having one's nose to the grindstone" and "back to the grindstone"