the.com/grindstone
the only thing humans willingly press their nose against for centuries.
means A thick rotating stone wheel used to sharpen, smooth, or grind tools and blades — and, figuratively, the symbol of hard, steady work, as in 'nose to the grindstone.'
from A plain English compound, grind + stone, both rooted in Old English: grindan, to crush or sharpen, and stan, stone. The expression 'nose to the grindstone' is old; the popular tale says it pictures a worker bent low over the spinning wheel, face nearly touching it as the blade is honed — and unlike many folk stories, this image is broadly consistent with the literal labor the phrase describes.
- spinning stone
- Ancient sandstone wheels sharpened blades by sheer rotation
- the phrase
- Nose-to-grindstone dates back to the 1500s
- wet work
- Water cooled the stone to prevent ruining steel
- foot powered
- Treadles let one person grind without an assistant
- worn down
- The stone sacrifices itself to make others sharp
grindstone at mount vernon — george washington's actual grindstone still preserved at his virginia estate, used for sharpening tools
millstones of olney mill — historic grindstones from 1785 olney mill in maryland, still grinding grain today