dirty work | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic)One or moreunpleasanttasks,assignments, oremploymentduties, especially those of adisreputableorillicitnature.1848, [Elizabeth Gaskell], chapter II, inMary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life.[…](Chapman and Hall’s Series of Original Works of Fiction, Biography, and General Literature), volume(please specify |volume=I or II), London:Chapman and Hall,[…],→OCLC:[A] sort of little back kitchen, wheredirty work, such as washing up dishes, might be done.1893,Horatio Alger, chapter 21, inCast Upon the Breakers:"I am no telltale," said James scornfully.[…]Jasper urged James to give information about Rodney, but he steadily refused. "I leave others to do suchdirty work," he said.1917,Upton Sinclair, chapter 11, inKing Coal:[M]any a business-man can say he doesn't dodirty work, because he has others do it for him.1936,George Orwell[pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Shooting an Elephant”, inShooting an Elephant and Other Essays, London:Secker and Warburg, published1950,→OCLC,pages1–2:In a job like that you see thedirty workof Empire at close quarters. The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos—all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.2003February 4, Elaine Shannon[et al.], “At Home, the FBI Keeps Tabs on Iraqis”, inTime‎[1], New York, N.Y.:Time Inc.,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe originalon20 January 2011:US experts believe the Iraqi intelligence service will set the plots in motion, then recruit or extort amateurs to do thedirty work.2025June 17,Friedrich Merz, quotee, “Chancellor Merz: Israel does "dirty work" for all of us”, inZDFheute Nachrichten‎[2]; English translation from “'Doing the dirty work for us': Merz praises Israel over Iran attacks”, inCGTN Europe‎[3], 2025 June 18, of original in German:This is thedirty workthat Israel is doing for all of us.[original:Das ist dieDrecksarbeit, die Israel macht für uns alle.]

Examples:

EN: That was all the dirty work of my former commissioner of Coastguard Commission.
ES: Todo fue mi culpa. el ex director de la policía marina.
EN: So he went up those balcony steps, crossed Miss Ada's room to the hall, did his dirty work, and vanished.
ES: Así que subió por la escalerilla del balcón, cruzó el cuarto de la Srta. Ada hasta el vestíbulo, hizo su trabajo sucio y desapareció.
EN: 'This means you'll have to do all the dirty work.'
ES: Haréis todo el trabajo sucio:
EN: I do all the dirty work for the whole family.
ES: Hago todo el trabajo sucio para toda la familia.
EN: Man lives exclusively By dirty work
ES: ¡El hombre sólo vive haciendo el mal!
EN: It's Harmon's dirty work, to keep me out of his nightclub.
ES: Es cosa de Harmon para que no entrara en su club nocturno.
EN: Maybe some day I'll be caught at some dirty work
ES: Quizás un día acabaré con este sucio "trabajo"
EN: Go on, finish your dirty work.
ES: Dispara sobre todos nosotros.
EN: "Let's get him to do the dirty work."
ES: Encarguémosle el trabajo difícil.
EN: When was there a better opportunity for dirty work at the crossroads?
ES: ¿Cuándo has tenido una oportunidad mejor?
EN: I've done a lot of the dirty work helping you to save face.
ES: "Me he esforzado mucho por salvarte la cara."
EN: As long as we can't find the boss I might as well do the dirty work.
ES: Mientras el jefe esté ausente me encargaré del trabajo sucio.
EN: I'll make your dirty work easy.
ES: Te voy a facilitar el trabajo sucio.
EN: There is a fool named Radek... totally willing to do the dirty work even if he does not know it.
ES: Hay un bobo llamado Radek totalmente dispuesto a hacer el trabajo sucio aunque no lo sepa. Sí.
EN: And even if Uncle has an alibi, they'll think he had a gunman to do the dirty work.
ES: Y aunque mi tío tenga coartada, creerán que un sicario le hizo el trabajo sucio.

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