hack away at (something)

(redirected from hacked away at)

hack away at (something)

1. To cut away at something and remove pieces of it, often with clumsy strokes or whacks. Quit hacking away at the roast and just let Dad cut it, will you?

2. To persistently work on some task, completing it in increments over time. Try not to get too overwhelmed and just hack away at the chores on your list.

See also: away, hack

References in periodicals archive ?

When they found it locked, one of the men lifted the machete above his head and repeatedly hacked away at the front door, smashing windows.

Terrifying moment machete gang hack through front door; masked raiders swipe car keys and take bmw and volkswagen

The Russian, above, took out scissors and hacked away at her ponytail during a changeover then rallied to claim a 7-5 1-6 7-5 win.

England win never in doubt; UPDATE

Witnesses said he walked up to the women at the city police station, pulled a machete from his bag and hacked away at them.

Machete cop shop attacker shot dead

To get at the fire, the firefighters hacked away at the new bead board and then sprayed water inside the wall.

Smoldering soldering

Things got more heated after Craig Cescon hacked away at Dundee goalie Marc Cheverie's pads trying to retrieve a loose puck.

Sindel swoops to seal points; Coventry Blaze.......................2 Dundee Stars..........................1

Maybe if Newcastle City Council hacked away at some of the focus groups and meaningless jobs created by Labour, we might be able to spend more, not less, on the Arts.

Harman cannot escape the blame; Views of the North

"What happened was someone slit the dog's throat ear to ear and then hacked away at it for a while.

Pup throat cut from ear to ear

And they said the Austrian site is even more detailed than the well-known Roman ruin, down to the remains of a thick wooden post in the middle of the training area, a mock enemy that young, desperate gladiators hacked away at centuries ago.

Unique Roman gladiator ruins unveiled in Austria

Masked men wielding sledgehammers and axes hacked away at display windows at Boodles at the junction of Lord Street and North John Street in the city centre at around 10am yesterday.

TERROR RAID ON CITY JEWELLERS; Gang smash through windows in robbery

Their latest attack in North Marine Park, South Shields, left a repair bill of more than pounds 3,000 after they hacked away at trees with saws and axes.

Park vandals

Chief executive Andrew Roper said: "We hacked away at the cost base, but the restructuring is over now."

Good start at Churchill China

The hapless crooks hacked away at the pipe in a disused factory in Paisley, Renfrewshire, until it sprang a leak.

Gas pipe heist fools

"Over the past 30 years or so the courts and the federal government have hacked away at the power of educators to maintain a safe and civil school environment.

Psychology III: Moral discipline in education

[P]olitical leaders -- especially on the right -- have hacked away at these fraying bonds of trust....

Building Big Brother

He eased restrictions on foreign investment and hacked away at protectionist import duties--especially on what economists call inputs, stuff like seed and fertilizer and concrete, the building blocks of the economy.