What does the idiom roll up your sleeves mean?

1 : to fold up the ends of one’s shirt sleeves to make them shorter. 2 informal : to prepare to work hard It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get the job done.

Is it OK to roll up sleeves at work?

Rolled-up sleeves, on the other hand, can work either with or without a tie. While my personal preference is for only rolling your sleeves when you are not wearing a tie, both are accepted business-casual looks. Mastering the roll-up is not as challenging as knotting a necktie properly.

Why do people pin up their sleeves?

Moreover, pinning up an empty sleeve or trouser leg, instead of hiding the injury with a prosthesis, made their sacrifice visible. Displaying an “honorable scar” in this way, especially during and immediately after the war, helped amputees to assert their contribution to the cause.

What does it mean to roll up your sleeves?

roll up (one’s) sleeves To do or get ready to do something difficult, intense, or demanding. Literally rolling up one’s sleeves is often done before performing some kind of work. Well, we have a long day ahead, so let’s roll up our sleeves and start!

Who was the first person to roll up his sleeves?

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. If you roll up your sleeves, you get ready to work hard, often as part of a group of people. He was very much a team player, rolling up his sleeves and getting down to work. When others refused to act, Jamie was the first to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

When do you turn your sleeves up to avoid getting wet?

This expression, alluding to turning one’s sleeves upward to avoid getting them wet or dirty, is used both literally and more loosely, as in the example here. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.