pick-and-shovel

[ pik-uhn-shuhv-uhl ]

adjective

1. marked by drudgery; laborious:

   the pick-and-shovel work necessary to get a political campaign underway.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pick-and-shovel¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

In the decades to come, the company, now called Tripp Lite, became a pick-and-shovel business of the digital gold rush.

From Salon

When he was 12, Mr. Poitier quit school and became a water boy for a crew of pick-and-shovel laborers.

From New York Times

After World War II, the state had 125,000 pick-and-shovel diggers, but machines cut the workforce to around 15,000 today - wiping out the livelihood of 110,000 families.

From Washington Times

In 1917, The Times reported that “pick-and-shovel men” were busy building the new West 7th Street shopping district that would include a new location for Ville de Paris, which was then on Broadway.

From Los Angeles Times

This was mainly because modern extraction techniques — like blowing the tops off mountains — require far less labor than old-fashioned pick-and-shovel mining.

From Seattle Times