1. Home
2. Idioms
3. labour

labour

---

---

labor under the illusion of/that

To live, operate, or function with the unyielding belief in something, especially that which is fanciful, unrealistic, or untrue. Primarily heard in US. Jeremy's always labored under the illusion of being a great writer, even though he's never written more than a few crummy poems. No one likes paying taxes, but those who would call for them to be done away with altogether are laboring under the illusion that our society can function without them!

See also: labor, of

labor under the delusion of/that

To live, operate, or function with the unyielding belief in something, especially that which is fanciful, unrealistic, or untrue. Primarily heard in US. Jeremy's always labored under the delusion of being a great writer, even though he's never written more than a few crummy poems. No one likes paying taxes, but those who would call for them to be done away with altogether are laboring under the delusion that our society can function without them!

See also: delusion, labor, of

stoop labour

Hard, physical labour requiring one to bend over, especially that which would be done on a farm. Primarily heard in UK. My grandfather has a permanent hunch in his spine from the stoop labour he had to do throughout his life. Every summer, we send the children to my brother's farm. It's good for them to get out of the city for a while and do a little bit of stoop labour.

See also: labour, stoop

labor of love

Work that is done for pleasure rather than money. Katherine spends all of her free time knitting baby clothes for her friends. It must be a labor of love.

See also: labor, love, of

labor of love

Fig. a task that is either unpaid or badly paid and that one does simply for one's own satisfaction or pleasure or to please someone whom one likes or loves. Jane made no money out of the biography she wrote. She was writing about the life of a friend and the book was a labor of love. Mary hates knitting, but she made a sweater for her boyfriend. What a labor of love.

See also: labor, love, of

a labour of love

  (British & Australian) also a labor of love (American & Australian)

an activity that is hard work but that you do because you enjoy it He prefers to paint the house himself - it's a real labour of love.

See also: labour, love, of

labor of love

Work done for one's satisfaction rather than monetary reward. For example, The research took three years but it was a labor of love. This expression appears twice in the New Testament (Hebrews 6:10, Thessalonians 1:3), referring to those who do God's work as a labor of love. [c. 1600]

See also: labor, love, of