a1677 R. Bellings in J. T. Gilbert (1882) i. 47 A part of the wall..soe rotten that it was but easy pickaxe worke to peirce it.
1744 M. Cary 41 They levelled as much rough Ground (it being a Nusance to the school) all Pickaxe work, as took ten Boys a Day, for forty-one Days.
1998 (Nexis) 25 June 3 With vivid traces of pickaxe work still evident, the trenches have been preserved as they were.