dirty work meaning: definition, quotations

dirty work

noun

Idiomatic One or more unpleasant tasks, assignments, or employment duties, especially those of a disreputable or illicit nature.

[A] sort of little back kitchen, where dirty work, such as washing up dishes, might be done.1848, [Elizabeth Gaskell], chapter II, in Mary 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:
"I am no telltale," said James scornfully. […] Jasper urged James to give information about Rodney, but he steadily refused. "I leave others to do such dirty work," he said.1893, Horatio Alger, chapter 21, in Cast Upon the Breakers:

4 more examples

[M]any a business-man can say he doesn't do dirty work, because he has others do it for him.1917, Upton Sinclair, chapter 11, in King Coal:
In a job like that you see the dirty work of 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.1936, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], “Shooting an Elephant”, in Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays, London: Secker and Warburg, published 1950, →OCLC, pages 1–2:
US experts believe the Iraqi intelligence service will set the plots in motion, then recruit or extort amateurs to do the dirty work.2003 February 4, Elaine Shannon [et al.], “At Home, the FBI Keeps Tabs on Iraqis”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Jan 2011:
Das ist die Drecksarbeit, die Israel macht für uns alle.2025 June 17, Friedrich Merz, quotee, “Chancellor Merz: Israel does "dirty work" for all of us”, in ZDFheute Nachrichten; English translation from “'Doing the dirty work for us': Merz praises Israel over Iran attacks”, in CGTN Europe, 18 June 2025, of original in German: