Sample sentences for GRINDSTONE

2 meanings

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1 —as in:
sharpen on a grindstone

Definition

a revolving disk-shaped stone used to grind (as when wheat is ground to flour), or used to sharpen or polish (as when sharpening a knife)

Do you have a grindstone to sharpen the knife?

grindstone = a disk shaped stone used to sharpen or polish

Other Uses (with this meaning)

The mill had a water-powered grindstone to grind wheat into flour.

grindstone = a large revolving stone shaped like a disk that is used to grind grain (also called a millstone)

She sharpened the knife on a grindstone.

grindstone = a disk shaped stone used to sharpen or polish

Life is a grindstone, and whether it grinds a man down or polishes him up depends on the stuff he's made of.
Josh Billings
My jack-knife here needs the grindstone.
Herman Melville -- Moby Dick

grindstone = a stone shaped like a disk that spins and is used to sharpen, grind, or polish

...come, turn this grindstone.
Frederick Douglass -- The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

grindstone = a large stone shaped like a disk that spins and is used to grind, sharpen or polish

There's a gaudy big grindstone down at the mill...
Mark Twain -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

grindstone = a large stone shaped like a disk that spins and is used to grind grain

The grindstone, pestle and mortar were too heavy to take; in any case my daughter-in-law would be providing these.
Kamala Markandaya -- Nectar in a Sieve

grindstone = a large stone used to grind, sharpen or polish

But how in the nation'd they ever GIT that grindstone IN there, ANYWAY?
Mark Twain -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

grindstone = a stone shaped like a disk that spins and is used to grind, sharpen or polish

And he said that between the rats and the snakes and the grindstone there warn't no room in bed for him...
Mark Twain -- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

grindstone = a stone shaped like a disk that spins and is used to grind, sharpen or polish

Dictionary / pronunciation — Google^®Comprehensive Dictionary (Oxford^® US)Dictionary list — Onelook.com^®Wikipedia: Grindstone for sharpening Wikipedia: Grindstone/Millstone for grinding Pictures — Google Images^®

2 —as in:
back to the grindstone

Definition

hard work

I need to get back to the grindstone.

grindstone = hard work

Other Uses (with this meaning)

Keep your nose to the grindstone.

grindstone = hard work

'So you've got your exams coming up, haven't you? They'll be keeping your noses so hard to that grindstone they'll be rubbed raw,' said Fred with satisfaction.
J.K. Rowling -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

grindstone = hard work (figuratively referring to working hard with a large stone used to grind, sharpen, or polish)

"Keeps your nose to the grindstone," Tyler said, grinning.
John Ringo -- Live Free or Die

(editor's note: A grindstone was a revolving disk-shaped stone used to grind grain as when grinding wheat into flour, or to sharpen or polish as when sharpening a knife. This expression is easy to remember if you picture someone working to sharpen a knife blade by holding it against a rotating stone while leaning over it.)

Kept his nose to the grindstone and sold one bottle of snake oil too many.
Eugene O'Neill -- The Iceman Cometh

No, now that he had arrived, he must keep his nose to the grindstone.
Agatha Christie -- And Then There Were None

Dictionary / pronunciation — Google^®Comprehensive Dictionary (Oxford^® US)Dictionary list — Onelook.com^®

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