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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

busy as a nailer en · ADJ

Meanings

  1. (Ireland, dated, idiomatic, not-comparable, qualifier:simile) working constantly.
    • The result was obvious; the nailer was no longer “as busy as a nailer,” and there was no prospect that he ever would be fully employed. 1888, Pennsylvania Secretary of Internal Affairs, Bureau of Industrial Statistics; Annual Report for 1887 (Harrisburg: E. K. Meyers) "G: The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers" p. 24
    • So the Colonel went down stairs, and the Ould Fellow worked away as busy as a nailer, shovellin' in the guineas by hundherds and thousands. 1832 Samuel Lover "The Devil's Mill" Legends and Stories of Ireland (Dublin: Wakeman) 2nd ed., p. 139
    • … she would be as busy as a nailer in the Abbey Shop ensuring that Mass cards were ready for those who came, and helping out in any other way she could. 2017 May 30, Noel Dundon, "Appreciation: The Late Eileesh Quirke, Holycross" Tipperary Star (Thurles)

Relateds

work like a nailer