peg away (at something)
To continue trying or working diligently (at something). I'm really not very good at math, but I've got to keep pegging away at it if I want to get into an engineering program. A: "Where's John?" B: "Oh, he's out in the garden pegging away."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
peg away at
Also, plug away at. Work steadily, persist, as in She pegged away at the tax return until she'd finished, or If we keep plugging away at it, the painting will soon be done. These idioms allude to the persistence required to fasten something by driving pegs or seal something by driving a plug. Peg away dates from the early 1800s plug away from the mid-1900s.
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. All rights reserved.