释义 |
Idiom hammer away (at someone or something) Theme: PERSISTENCE to keep trying to accomplish something with someone or something.John, you've got to keep hammering away at your geometry.They hammered away at the prisoner until he confessed.They kept hammering away.
phrasehammer away1. hammer away to hit something hard continuously, especially making a loud noise: I could hear the workmen hammering away downstairs. Fleisher has finally learned to play the piano properly, rather than hammering away with his fingers.■ SIMILAR TO: bang away2. hammer away to work hard at something for a long time in a determined way: It was incredibly boring work, but we hammered away on our ancient typewriters until it was done.+ at Bill's got to finish the article by tomorrow, even if it means hammering away at it all night.■ SIMILAR TO: bash away informal, especially BrE, slave away, slog away BrE informal3. hammer away to keep talking about something a lot in order to persuade people to agree with you, understand how important it is etc: "Keep hammering away," David said. "They'll see what we mean in the end."+ at Clinton hammered away at the same issues throughout the election campaign.■ SIMILAR TO: bang on BrE informal, go on informal
hammer awayTo work hard on something persistently over time. Yes, we're still trying to hammer away the details of this contract. hammer awayv.1. To pound on something with loud, repeated blows: The kids hammered away at the door until I let them in. 2. To work at something with determination for an extended period: We hammered away on our proposal all night. 3. To talk about something to an excessive and tedious degree: The committee hammered away at the same subject for hours. |