break the back en
1break the back of — (something) to destroy something. Police are hoping they can break the back of these gangs. Experts say we will have to live in a state of high alert until we break the back of terrorism. Etymology: based on the idea that breaking the back of an… …
2break the back of — phrasal to subdue the main force of < break the back of inflation > …
3break the back of something — break the back of (something) to destroy something. Police are hoping they can break the back of these gangs. Experts say we will have to live in a state of high alert until we break the back of terrorism. Etymology: based on the idea that… …
4break the back of — verb To achieve the greater part of some project. Ive broken the back of painting the shed Ill finish it after lunch …
5To break the back — Break Break (br[=a]k), v. t. [imp. {broke} (br[=o]k), (Obs. {Brake}); p. p. {Broken} (br[=o] k n), (Obs. {Broke}); p. pr. & vb. n. {Breaking}.] [OE. breken, AS. brecan; akin to OS. brekan, D. breken, OHG. brehhan, G. brechen, Icel. braka to creak …
6break the back of the beast — If someone breaks the back of the beast, they succeed in overcoming a major difficulty. After hours of effort, the technicians finally broke the back of the beast and turned the electricity back on again …
7break the back of — accomplish the main or hardest part of (a task). → break …
8break the back — work very hard, put in great effort …
9break your back — ► to work very hard: »He has been breaking his back to get the project finished on time. Main Entry: ↑break …
10break your back — If you work extremely hard, or put a lot of effort into achieving something, you break your back to do it. If you want the job done well, you should accept to pay more. He s not going to break his back for such a low price! …
