你見過磨石（grindstone）嗎？它是用來磨谷物的兩片圓石頭中的一片（a rotating stone wheel used for sharpening, shaping, polishing, etc.）。那么，把鼻子放到兩片磨石之間就必然會受傷。所以，“nose to the grindstone”這個習語最初是用來表達“疼痛”的意思，但是現在這個習語已經不再有這個意思了。
“To put or keep one’s nose to the grindstone”現在的意思是“to be in a state of strenuous hard work”。19世紀中葉，“keep/put one’s nose to the grindstone”這個習語就有了“辛苦工作”的意思，特別指枯燥乏味的工作。這個短語通常用來形容長時間辛苦勞作的人們，如下面這句話描寫的：“But without a dependable retirement plan, we would not be assure of being able to enjoy a comfortable and leisurely retirement, and would have to keep our poor noses to the grindstone until we conk out.”（Business World, 1999）
下面我們來談談“put your nose to the grindstone”和“put your shoulder to the wheel”的區別，二者意思極為相近，但前者指那種持續的，看似無休無止的工作，而“put your shoulder to the wheel”則形容有限的工作，精力充沛的完成某項工作，特別是有難度的工作。 “Put your shoulder to the wheel”的這個意義起源于人們用肩頭抵住車輪，把陷入泥潭的車子推出去。
但是在日常生活中，這兩個短語是可以通用的，如下面這段話：
Businesses that had seemed in a state of suspended animation in the latter part of the week, their workers distracted by worry and grief, put shoulders to the wheel and noses to the grindstone. The incredible engine that is the American economy began to pick up speed once more. (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, September 17, 2001)
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