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bump and grind
1. noun A dance characterized by aggressive and overtly sexualized hip movements, either by a single dancer or between two dance partners. It was a little disconcerting to see teenagers doing the bump and grind at the prom.
2. noun Any series or combination of rough, jarring movements, especially as in whitewater kayaking or road racing. The bump and grind through those last rapids gave me a headache!
3. verb To dance in a manner characterized by aggressive and overtly sexualized hip movements, either by a single dancer or between two dance partners. It was a little disconcerting to see teenagers bumping and grinding at the prom.
4. verb To perform any series or combination of rough, jarring movements, especially as in whitewater kayaking or road racing. We're going to have to bump and grind through this next section of the river.
grind (someone's) gears
To greatly or specifically irritate or annoy someone. It really grinds my gears when cyclists go zipping through red lights! John's not a bad guy, but he has a habit of grinding people's gears with his political rants.
daily grind
[someone's] everyday work routine. I'm getting very tired of the daily grind. When my vacation was over, I had to go back to the daily grind.
grind away
(at someone) Fig. to needle, criticize, and nag someone continually. Why are you always grinding away at me? Leave me alone. Stop grinding away!
grind away (at something)
to crush something into particles continually. The machine ground away at the rocks, making tons of gravel. It ground away, making a terrible noise in the process.
grind on
Fig. [for something] to drag on endlessly. The hours ground on without anything happening. I was so tired of waiting. The lecture ground on, minute after minute.
grind someone down
Fig. to wear someone down by constant requests; to wear someone down by constant nagging. If you think you can grind me down by bothering me all the time, you are wrong. The constant nagging ground down the employees at last.
grind something away
to remove something by grinding. Grind the bumps away and make the wall smooth. Please grind away the bumps.
grind something down
to make something smooth or even by grinding. Grind this down to make it smooth. Please grind down this rough spot.
grind something into something
1. to pulverize something into powder, grit, particles, etc. The machine ground the rocks into gravel. The mill ground the grain into flour.
2. and grind something in to crush or rub something into something. People's feet ground the cigarette ashes into the carpet. Their feet ground in the ashes.
grind something out
. 1. Lit. to produce something by grinding. Working hard, he ground the powder out, acup at a time. He ground out the powder, a cup at a time.
2. Fig. to produce something in a mechanical or perfunctory manner. The factory just keeps grinding these toys out, day after day. The machine grinds out the same part by the hundreds all day long.
grind something to something
to keep grinding something until it is something. I ground the fennel seeds to a powder and threw them in the simmering sauce. The wheels of the cars, trucks, and buses had ground the football to a broken mass.
grind something together
to rub things together. Stop grinding your teeth together. The stones ground together as we drove over them.
grind something up
to pulverize or crush something by crushing, rubbing, or abrasion. Please grind the fennel seeds up. Grind up the fennel seeds and sprinkle them on the top.
grind to a halt
Fig. to slow down and stop. Every day about noon, traffic in town grinds to a halt. The bus ground to a halt at the corner and someone got off.
have an ax(e) to grind
Fig. to have something to complain about. Tom, I need to talk to you. I have an ax to grind. Bill and Bob went into the other room to argue. They had an axe to grind.
mill cannot grind with water that is past
Prov. Do not waste the opportunities you now have.; Do not waste time wishing for what you had in the past. If you want to go abroad, do it now, while you're young and have the money. The mill cannot grind with water that is past.
mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small
Prov. It may take a long time, but evil will always be punished. Jill: It really doesn't seem right that Fred can be so horrible and dishonest, but he always gets everything he wants. Jane: Be patient. The mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small.
have an ax to grind
also have an axe to grind1. to have a selfish reason for saying or doing something The best reporting is done by people who don't have an ax to grind. After you get the same complaints from a number of people, you begin to think it may not be just people who have personal axes to grind.
2. to have a strong opinion about something that influences your actions I don't have an ax to grind about the fact that Christmas has become commercialized.
grind to a halt
to slowly come to a stop Traffic on the interstate almost ground to a halt today because it was so foggy. The strike has caused production of new cars to grind to a halt.
have an axe to grind
to have a strong opinion about something, which you are often trying to persuade other people is correct As a novelist, he has no political axe to grind.
grind to a halt/standstill
if an organization, system, or process grinds to a halt, it stops working, usually because of a problem If the computer network crashed, the whole office would grind to a halt.
ax to grind
A selfish aim or motive, as in The article criticized the new software, but the author had an ax to grind, as its manufacturer had fired his son . This frequently used idiom comes from a story by Charles Miner, published in 1811, about a boy who was flattered into turning the grindstone for a man sharpening his ax. He worked hard until the school bell rang, whereupon the man, instead of thanking the boy, began to scold him for being late and told him to hurry to school. "Having an ax to grind" then came into figurative use for having a personal motive for some action. [Mid-1800s]
grind to a halt
Also, come to a grinding halt. Gradually come to a standstill or end. For example, Once the funding stopped, the refurbishing project ground to a halt, or She's come to a grinding halt with that book she's writing. This expression alludes to a clogged engine that gradually stops or a ship that runs aground.
mills of the gods grind slowly
One's destiny is inevitable even if it takes considerable time to arrive. For example, I'm sure he'll be wealthy one day, though the mills of the gods grind slowly. This expression comes from ancient Greek, translated as "The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind small." In English it appeared in George Herbert's Jacula Prudentum (1640) as "God's mill grinds slow but sure."
grind away
v.1. To remove something by grinding: You need to grind the spurs away with a file. The optician ground away the glass from the lens.
2. To devote oneself to study or work: She ground away at the problem. We told him to get some sleep before the exam, but he kept grinding away.
grind down
v.1. To cause wear on something by rubbing against it, reducing its size: The jeweler ground the opals down into beautiful egg-shaped pieces. The miller ground down the wheat for the farmers.
2. To slow down, as if through a grinding action: The machine eventually ground down to a halt.
grind into
v.1. To change the state of something to some other state by grinding: In this recipe you have to grind the rice into a fine powder.
2. To instill or teach something by persistent repetition: The instructor ground the lessons into their heads.
grind out
v.1. To produce mechanically or without inspiration: The factory grinds out a uniform product. I dread writing my tedious weekly reports, but I grind them out.
2. To achieve or accomplish something through determination and force: The team ground out a win. Their running game ground out 50 yards, putting them in position for a field goal. Victory seemed far off, but we managed to grind it out in the last minutes of play.
daily grind
n. the tedious pattern of daily work. (see also
rat race.)
Well, it’s Monday. Time to start another week of the daily grind. grind
in. to sell drugs. He told the cops he wasn’t grinding, but they found his junk.
axe to grind
A selfish or ulterior aim: He claimed to be disinterested, but I knew he had an axe to grind.
grind it out
To make a persistent effort in doing something that is difficult; work at something persistently.