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Perseverance - Making Great Efforts

Explore English idioms that relate to making great efforts, including "burn the midnight oil" and "elbow grease".

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English idioms related to Perseverance
to [break] {one's} (stones|balls)

to put in an extreme amount of effort into doing something

Ex: He broke his balls to finish the job before Friday. 
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to [burn] the midnight oil

to do something until the very late hours of the night

Ex: She burned the midnight oil to finish the report. 
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to [fall] over backward

to put in an extraordinary amount of effort to accomplish something, often with the intention of pleasing someone

Ex: The hotel staff fell over backward to make our stay comfortable. 
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to [give] {one's} eye teeth

to be very determined and do whatever it takes to achieve a goal

Ex: She would give her eye teeth to get into that university. 
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to [go] to town

to complete a task or activity with thoroughness, efficiency, and speed, often suggesting a focused and diligent approach

Ex: Once the deadline was moved up, the whole team went to town on the report. 
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to [move] mountains

to accomplish something challenging or seemingly impossible through extraordinary effort and determination

Ex: With enough determination, this team can move mountains. 
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a hundred and ten percent

an intense amount of effort made toward achieving something one desires

Ex: She gave a hundred and ten percent to win the competition. 
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to bend {one's} (mind|thoughts|efforts) to {do sth}

to put a great amount of effort or thought into something particular

Ex: She bent her mind to solving the problem before the deadline. 
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blood, sweat, and tears

an extreme amount of effort, dedication, and hard work

Ex: She put blood, sweat, and tears into building her business. 
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elbow grease

a great amount of physical effort or work that is put into something

Ex: The old table just needs some elbow grease to look new again. 
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to [break] {one's} neck

to put in a great deal of effort to accomplish something

Ex: She broke her neck to get the proposal ready on time. 
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to [push] the envelope

to go beyond established limits or norms, often in a creative or daring way

Ex: The designer pushed the envelope with a bold new layout. 
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to [break] the back of the beast

to manage to do something that is extremely difficult or challenging

Ex: Once we fixed the funding issue, we broke the back of the beast. 
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