The Grind, Defined and Redefined

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World Through the times

“Grind” has been used in The Times to describe workplace doldrums and dance moves.

By Sarah Diamond

In Word Through The Times, we trace how one word or phrase has changed throughout the history of the newspaper.

In 2008, the headline “Bump. Grind. Repeat.” appeared on an article in the Styles section of The New York Times. Dan Levin had reported from a bar in New York City where patrons danced in close contact. “The dancing was, in a word, dramatic,” he wrote. “The crowd vamped and twirled. Necking and grinding were de rigueur.”

One of the earliest meanings of the word “grind” was to “crush into bits or fine particles between two hard surfaces,” according to Webster’s New World Dictionary. But, over time, the term has come to represent something more, including the doldrums of the 9-5 work day and saucy dance moves.

In 1860, The Times used “grind” for one of the first times in its pages, in idiomatic terms: to have a problem with something or someone. A column titled San Francisco Gossip noted that, because the Legislature was about to open in California, people were heading to what would eventually become the state’s capital. “Everybody having an axe to grind has gone up to Sacramento,” it said.

To grind also took on another figurative meaning, “to afflict with cruelty, hardship, etc.; crush; oppress.” In an article from 1970, the journalist David K. Shipler described the tensions between building superintendents and renters in New York City. He wrote of the “hostility and suspicion that grind down both tenants and supers.”

When used as a noun, grind can also mean a “long, difficult, tedious work or study; drudgery,” according to Webster’s. Another Times article from 1970 announced a bus service to New York City from Long Island, a “new service for commuters who are tired of the daily grind of trying to get to New York by automobiles on roads that long ago exceeded their capacity.”

“Grind” has gained new relevance during the coronavirus pandemic. “How would Dolly Parton capture the daily grind in 2022?” asked Emma Goldberg, who reports on the culture of work for The Times.

As workplaces adopted remote and hybrid setups, the typical workday — or “9 to 5,” as Parton sang about — was redefined. Last year, The Times wrote about a Generation Z office worker who said she was “more enamored of the daily grind than some of her older colleagues, in part because the physical office remains a novelty.”

Sarah Diamond manages production for narrated articles. She previously worked at National Geographic Studios. More about Sarah Diamond

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