through the mill
through the mill
Through rough, abusive treatment or an intense amount of anguish, stress, or grief. The coach was renowned for putting his players through the mill in order to make them the toughest in the state. Between getting fired from his job, losing his mother to cancer, and having his house repossessed by the bank, poor Jonathan's really been through the mill lately.
See also: mill, through
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
*through the mill
Fig. badly treated; abused and exhausted. (Fig. on a grain mill. *Typically: be ~; go ~; put someone ~; send someone ~.) This has been a rough day. I've really been through the mill. This old car is banged up, and it hardly runs. We really put it through the mill.
See also: mill, through
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
through the mill
Hardship or rough treatment, as in They put him through the mill, making him work at every one of the machines, or Jane was exhausted; she felt she'd been through the mill. This term alludes to being ground down like grain in a mill. [Late 1800s]
See also: mill, through
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
through the mill
mod. abused; well-worn. That was some convention. I’ve really been through the mill.
See also: mill, through
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
- put (one) through the mill
- through the mill, to go/to be put
- go through the mill
- go through/put somebody through the mill
- put (one) through hell
- come to grief
- gnaw
- gnaw (at) (someone's) vitals
- all Sir Garnet
- sir