Daily grind

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Grammarist

The expression the daily grind has been in use for over a hundred years. We will examine the definition of the term the daily grind, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.

The daily grind is one’s daily routine, one’s usual scope of work and activity that is boring and routine. The term daily grind is usually designated with the definite article, the. The term daily grind first appeared in the Illustrated London News in the mid-1800s. There is an apocryphal story that links the term daily grind with preparing flour, but this is not correct. In fact, the word grind has been used at least since the 1600s to mean to figuratively wear down or to oppress. By the 1700s grind had also come into use as a noun, meaning a routine or task that wears one down through repetition and dullness.

Examples

People go to Beaver Mountain to escape the daily grind, to spend time outdoors or to feel the rush of a fast-paced journey downhill. (The Herald Journal)

In 2012, Adams had saved enough money to quit her daily grind of pushing drugs to various doctors, and pursue full time her goal to help others achieve financial peace. (The Winston-Salem Chronicle)

“I want to make an impact, a positive impact, so for six or seven months and from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., after I got out of the daily grind, I wrote and put this book together,” he said. (The New Pittsburgh Courier)

They get us away from the daily grind and for a few minutes we are in another place or time; think “Walter Mitty.” (The Bemidji Pioneer)