hacks away
Persists despite difficulty
Hacks away means to keep cutting or chopping at something with rough, repeated strokes: He hacked away at the underbrush with a machete.
More often the phrase describes persistent effort at a difficult task, especially writing or other creative work: She's been hacking away at her dissertation for months.
The image is of gradual progress through brute persistence rather than finesse.
- axeBladed tool for chopping
- chopQuick forceful slice
- cuts throughDivides by passing through
- persevereContinue despite obstacles
- toilStrenuous, prolonged effort
hard at work · tenacious · grind down · erode · slice · hatchet · whittle · relentless · pare · wears down · fragment · carve · determined · never gives up · machete · disassemble · hew · cleave