root, hog, or die verb used when difficult work is the only course of action US, 1834
It was—as he put it to himself, root, hog, or die! — Malcolm Braly, It’s ColdOutThere, p. 9, 1966
“Don’t make Ruby feel worse than she does already. They’ve got no choice. In times like these, it’s root, hog, or die.” — Sandra Dallas, The PersianPickleClub, p. 43, 1995