mule

Extremely reluctant or unwilling to change a particular opinion, behavior, or course of action, especially when faced with opposition. My toddler is as obstinate as a mule, and he'll throw a tantrum any time he doesn't get what he wants. You'll never get Rich to change his opinion—he's obstinate as a mule.

Extremely reluctant or unwilling to change a particular opinion, behavior, or course of action, especially when faced with opposition. My toddler is as stubborn as a mule, and he'll throw a tantrum any time he doesn't get what he wants. You'll never get Rich to change his opinion—he's stubborn as a mule.

To be very devoted to a particular opinion or course of action, especially when faced with opposition. My toddler is as stubborn as a mule and has a tantrum every night at bedtime because he doesn't want to stop playing. You'll never get Rich to change his opinion—he's stubborn as a mule.

To steal or misappropriate funds. The phrase refers to blacksmiths who did not shoe one's animal even after accepting payment. I entrusted him with a lot of money, so I'm going to be livid if I find out that he's trying to shoe my mule.

To work very intently, persistently, and assiduously. A reference to beavers' reputation of being extremely industrious. I worked like a beaver the entire summer after high school to earn enough cash to buy my first guitar. The kids are all working like beavers to get the pageant ready in time.

To work very intensely for a long or continuous period of time, especially doing something thankless or menial. The boss had us working like mules to get the project ready on time. I worked like a mule the entire summer after high school to earn enough cash to buy my first guitar. I've been out here working like a mule while you sit inside sipping lemonade. Could you maybe lend me a hand?

to kick very hard. They say that ostriches will kick like a mule if you bother them. Stay away from the back end of Tom's horse. It will kick like a steer when a stranger comes up.

Cliché very stubborn. (*Also: as ~.) I tried to convince Jake to go to the doctor, but he's as stubborn as a mule. For four years, Henry pestered his parents to let him learn the trumpet. They tried to talk him into some other, quieter instrument, but he was stubborn as a mule, and now he has a trumpet.

Fig. to work very hard. She has an important deadline coming up, so she's been working like a beaver. You need a vacation. You work like a slave in that kitchen. I'm too old to work like a horse. I'd prefer to relax more.

Extremely obstinate, as in He's stubborn as a mule about wearing a suit and tie. This simile evokes the proverbial stubbornness of mules, whose use as draft animals was once so common that the reputation for obstinacy can hardly be as warranted as the term indicates. [Early 1800s]

Also, work like a dog or horse or Trojan . Work very energetically and hard, as in She worked like a beaver to clean out all the closets, or I've been working like a dog weeding the garden, or He's very strong and works like a horse. The first of these similes is the oldest, first recorded in 1741; the variants date from the second half of the 1800s. Also see work one's fingers to the bone.

If someone is as stubborn as a mule, they are determined to do what they want and very unwilling to change their mind. For all his pleasant manner, the Texan was stubborn as a mule, and he didn't like being pushed. Old Greg is also stubborn as a mule. He won't say anything — he'll just carry on doing what he planned. Note: This expression is usually used to show disapproval.

Singularly obstinate. No one knows why mules in particular have been singled out for this quality, but they have, for centuries. “Contrary” and “obstinate” are other adjectives used in the simile, which became current in the early 1800s and remains so. The same is meant by the adjective mulish.

A a government handout; a broken promise. As Union general William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and other parts of the confederacy during the Civil War, he promised freed slaves the gift of forty acres of South Carolina and Georgia farmland and an army mule with which to work the soil. Following the war, however, President Johnson rescinded Sherman's order, and the appropriated land was restored to its owners. While most citizens adopted the phrase as a metaphor for either any form of government handout (or a trifling salary or bonus from their employer), African-Americans who remembered the expression's history used it as a rueful reminder of a offer that was reneged upon.