get one's hands dirty
Do manual labor
To get one's hands dirty is to engage in practical, often unglamorous work rather than directing from a distance: The CEO still gets her hands dirty on the factory floor.
It can also mean involving oneself in morally questionable activities: Politicians who won't get their hands dirty never get anything done.
The phrase suggests direct engagement—whether admirable or compromising.
- roll up one's sleevesPrepare for physical work
- manual laborWork done bodily
- blue collarManual labor workforce
- hard workSustained strenuous effort
- immersionState of being submerged
corruption · craftsmanship · pragmatism · tinkering · commitment · sacrifice · repair · accountability · moral ambiguity · industriousness · boldness · skin in the game · elbow grease · blood sweat and tears · fieldwork · in the trenches · nitty gritty · initiative
get one's hands dirtydelegate
Entrust authority to another
supervise · oversee · pass the buck · sit back · hand off
get one's hands dirtytheorize
Form explanatory suppositions
armchair expert · keep one's distance · armchair quarterback · pontificate · philosophize
getting, hands, handed, handing, handy, handful, handily, dirty, dirtier