Trying to survive in this industry is all blood, sweat and tears although there are fun parts, as well.
word origin — Famously used by Winston Churchill in his 1940 wartime speech, promising total sacrifice from his country.
blood, sweat and tears, easy come easy go, whistle in the wind, bend over backwards, reinvent the wheel: meanings and examples
Learn these 5 idioms from Idioms set 19. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.
blood, sweat and tears · idiom/blʌd swɛt ənd tɪrz/
extremely difficult and requiring hard work
Trying to survive in this industry is all blood, sweat and tears although there are fun parts, as well.
Origin: Famously used by Winston Churchill in his 1940 wartime speech, promising total sacrifice from his country.
easy come easy go · idiom/ˈizi kʌm ˈizi ɡoʊ/
whatever is achieved easily is lost easily
Jeremy wasted all the money he inherited on wild living. Well, easy come, easy go.
Origin: From the 1600s — captures the philosophy that wealth gained without effort is also lost without sorrow.
whistle in the wind · idiom/ˈwɪsl ɪn ðə wɪnd/
to try hopelessly to achieve something
My exercise routine feels like I'm just whistling in the wind because I haven't even lost a pound in more than three weeks.
Origin: A 19th-century expression — the sound of a whistle vanishes in the wind, just like wasted effort.
bend over backwards · idiom/bɛnd ˈoʊvɚ ˈbækwɚdz/
to try very hard to make something happen
Noah had to bend over backwards to convince Lisa that he deserves another chance.
Origin: An American 20th-century image — physically bending so far back shows extreme, almost impossible effort.
reinvent the wheel · idiom/riɪnˈvɛnt ðə wil/
to create something that is clearly not better than the existing ones
There are already excellent examples of success stories, so we do not need to reinvent the wheel.
Origin: A 20th-century expression — the wheel is humanity's most basic invention, so recreating it wastes time.