slave away

slave away

To work strenuously and continuously (doing something). I slave away over a hot stove all afternoon, and you can't even be bothered to finish what's on your plate? I've been slaving away at this report for the last three days. I'm just ready for it to be finished! I refuse to slave away for minimum wage
See also: away, slave
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

slave away (at something)

Fig. to work very hard (doing something). I'm tired of slaving away at this and getting nowhere. I'm slaving away for $7.00 an hour and have no prospects for the future.
See also: away, slave
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

slave away

v.
To work very hard or persistently: I've been slaving away in the garden. The accountant slaved away on the tax returns.
See also: away, slave
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.

slave away

verb
See slave away at something
See also: away, slave

slave away (at something)

in. to work very hard (doing something). I’m slaving away for $7 an hour and have no prospects for the future.
See also: away, slave, something
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • slave away at something
  • slog away
  • hotter than a two-dollar pistol
  • slave over
  • slave over (something)
  • slave over a hot stove
  • toil over
  • toil over (someone or something)
  • night and day
  • toil for
References in periodicals archive
It does not mean 'condemning young people to slave away in a business which destroys their soul,' as a 20-something, desperately unhappy third-generation scion of a well-known retail family clan puts it.
At the end, we are just a finished product newly out of a factory, to slave away at a 9 to 5 job every day, for the rest of our lives.
You may be nursing a hangover from the night before or you are out and about and do not want to slave away over a hot stove.
Dortmund must be chuckling as Spurs slave away for a minor cup
And while many slave away at the gym or go on long runs, Mosley says just two minutes of intense exercise a week is all you need.
Dobby had to slave away in the kitchens at Hogwarts but Marcliffe owner Stewart Spence says he's now happily retired.
"Sure I can slave away for years playing Shield cricket.
There was no way that I was going to the local supermarket to buy all the ingredients and then slave away in front of the stove.
HEIR WE GO Racing off with the ball; SHOT STUFF Harry launches the ball goalwards; ROYAL TEE HEE Harry's game for a laugh yesterday; OVER TO PHEW Harry has a breather as pals slave away; OVER TO PHEW Harry has a breather as pals slave away; WALL OVER Harry and his pals relax; BARROW BOY Harry at work
THE misery of life in a Chinese sweatshop is chillingly revealed by Chun Wong, 18, who travelled 700 miles from her home to slave away at one of the Guangdong plants.
His policy is also morally corrupt, relying as it does on Chinese workers' willingness to slave away all week for a meagre pounds 17.
Those people -the majority,I imagine, young people -who slave away in restaurants across Merseyside for probably not a great deal of money (and zeropublicity) will probably be pleased that we all now know how hard they have to work to feed our bellies!
Still, these brands have their downside, and Beaudoin uses the metaphor of the Body of Christ to unveil the connection between the bodies of young customers branded by these companies and the impoverished and oppressed bodies of the (often young) workers who slave away in sweatshops owned of run by these companies.
A group of girls, led by 16-year-old Katie Smith, gave up their lunch breaks to slave away in the school's design and technology department.
Does he feel he is above the mundane, while expecting his councillors to slave away, carrying out the implementation of a new council structure he himself pushed for?'