get one's hands dirty en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To get involved with the unpleasant parts of a task, such as manual labor or unethical activities.
He doesn't get his hands dirty — that's what the henchmen and the plausible deniability are for.
If you expect to seal up every possible source of draftiness, you'll have to get your hands dirty — there will be some kneeling and crawling involved.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| gotten one's hands dirty | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | US | lexicographic |
| got one's hands dirty | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | UK | lexicographic |
| got one's hands dirty | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| gets one's hands dirty | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| getting one's hands dirty | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
dirty work · dirty-handed · the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet · wash one's hands of
Translations (11)
fr aller au charbon (Translations) · de sich die Finger schmutzig machen (Translations) · es ensuciarse las manos (Translations) · fi liata kätensä (Translations) · pl ubrudzić sobie ręce (Translations) · es no caérsele los anillos (Translations) · fr faire le sale boulot (Translations) · fr mettre les mains dans le cambouis (Translations) · pl brudzić sobie ręce (Translations) · de sich die Hände schmutzig machen (Translations) · fr se salir les mains (Translations)