Definition of: "break one’s back" with explanation and origin
Definition of: break one’s back with explanation and origin? Meaning of break one’s back with examples in English idiom dictionary.
| English | English |
|
|
Definition of: "break one’s back" with explanation and origin
break one’s back
break one’s back
Meaning
- get through the hardest part of something.
- to put a lot of effort into doing something.
- to return to a previous position or state, usually abruptly (breakback).
The meaning of “break someone’s back” simply states that a person is working very hard to accomplish something or to get something. Overtime, this idiom developed different meanings. During the 19th century it was used to explain how hard a person worked to achieve a goal or to accomplish a task. This phrase is also used to indicate how much effort a person is putting into something.
Today, the phrase is not commonly used like it was during the past. Sometimes people just use the phrase to explain how they are dealing with a difficult situation.
Examples in Sentences
- I’m tired and need an ice-cold drink. I broke my back at work today on that project.
- Man, they were trying to break our backs today on the docks. We had to lift all that heavy freight by hand.
- Lisa, I went above and beyond for that man. I broke my back trying to please him and make him happy.
- Trying to achieve a personal goal can be hard. I broke my back to get things done.
- He is very talented and should refuse to break your back working for him for a salary of $200 a week.
Origin
The phrase “break one’s back” has been in use for hundreds of years. It is an old English idiom that was commonly used during the 15th century. In those days, people would use the phrase to talk about the amount of hard labour or physical work they did for money, food, or other resources. The phrase was recorded in some Shakespearean writings, and it was also used by the commoners of the day who did hard work.
Many idioms and phrases that we use today simply evolved from the conditions in which they were created. This is more than likely how the phrase “break back” came into existence. The people back then had to do hard work in the fields, farming, hunting, building, and making war. So, the term was just used to describe the conditions these individuals were subject to in those days.
The Origins of break one’s back
Body, Hard, WorkEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
Read more
- Definition of "in bed with" in English?
- Definition of "break one’s back" in English?
- Definition of "blank check" in English?
- Definition of "in one’s blood" in English?
- Definition of "not all it’s cracked up to be" in English?
- Definition of "a quick buck" in English?
- Definition of "been around" in English?
- Definition of "make a clean breast" in English?
- Definition of "bone to pick" in English?
- Definition of "bat an eye" in English?
- Definition of "between the devil and the deep blue sea" in English?
- Definition of "lights are on but nobody is home" in English?
- Definition of "on the blink" in English?
- Definition of "busy as a beaver" in English?
- Definition of "red book" in English?
- Definition of "chip off the old block" in English?
- Definition of "by dint of" in English?
- Definition of "do one’s bit" in English?
- Definition of "blast from the past" in English?
- Definition of "birds of a feather" in English?
English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
