grunt work
noun /ˈɡrʌnt wɜːk/
/ˈɡrʌnt wɜːrk/
[uncountable] (informal)- hard boring work
- She has assistants to do the grunt work like research and proofreading.
- There’s a lot of grunt work involved in the assignment.
- I was used to grunt work but pouring concrete was the worst.
- He has done the grunt work, sifting through thousands of official records.