got one's hands dirty
Engaged in labor
Got one's hands dirty means became personally involved in difficult, unpleasant, or morally questionable work rather than staying removed from it.
The phrase suggests direct engagement with messy realities: She got her hands dirty learning the business from the factory floor.
It can imply either admirable willingness to do hard work or involvement in ethically dubious dealings: The senator got his hands dirty with campaign finance schemes.
Labor using physical effort
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
- sweatMoisture from skin pores
- grimeIngrained surface dirt
- greaseThick oily lubricant
calloused · blue-collar · workshop · fieldwork · digging · hauling · construction · carpentry
Pledged to marry
- participatedTook an active role
- immersedPlunged entirely into
- committedFirmly pledged or bound
- pitched inContributed effort or resources
contributed · active · involved · dug in · stepped up · collaborated · volunteered · mucked in
Made vulnerable to harm
- bribedCorrupted with payment
- colludedPlotted together secretly
- embezzledStole entrusted money
- implicatedShown to be involved
incriminated · kickbacks · cover-up · scandal · graft · payoff · under-the-table · crooked
manual work
Labor using physical effort
grease · calloused · blue-collar · workshop · fieldwork · digging · hauling · construction · carpentry · plumbing
engaged
Pledged to marry
- participatedTook an active role
- immersedPlunged entirely into
- committedFirmly pledged or bound
pitched in · contributed · active · involved · dug in · stepped up · collaborated · volunteered · mucked in · boots on ground
compromised
Made vulnerable to harm
implicated · incriminated · kickbacks · cover-up · scandal · graft · payoff · under-the-table · crooked · tainted