lägga manken till
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
From lägga (“put”) + manken (“the withers (back of a four-legged animal)”) + till (“to”), in reference to an ox beginning to push against a yoke with its withers.
Verb edit
lägga manken till (present lägger manken till, preterite lade, la manken till, supine lagt manken till, imperative lägg manken till)
- (idiomatic, intransitive) to put a lot of effort into something (one previously did not put a lot of effort into), to put one's back into something, to put one's mind to something
- Han kan vara lite lat, men när han lägger manken till får han mycket gjort
- He can be a bit lazy, but when he puts his back into it, he gets a lot done