donkey work en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, uncountable) Work that is difficult, boring, and routine.
Why does everyone else get the interesting work while I have to do all the donkey work, and even the company's dirty work?
But what looks like donkeywork is a necessary step in a formulaic approach, a set of prescribed practices that have their own embedded wisdom.
2022, The Atlantic:Labi said she did not need to carry planks of wood on her head any more, it was donkey work for idiots
2019, Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other, Penguin Books (2020), page 161:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| donkeywork | alternative | lexicographic | |
| donkey-work | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
God's work · grunt work · collar-work
Translations (9)
ga sclábhaíocht (hard, boring, routine work) · pl czarna robota (hard, boring, routine work) · el αγγαρεία (hard, boring, routine work) · fa خرکاری (hard, boring, routine work) · tr angarya (hard, boring, routine work) · cs mravenčí práce (hard, boring, routine work) · pl robota głupiego (hard, boring, routine work) · gv tooilleil (hard, boring, routine work) · ota حماللق (hard, boring, routine work)