'tend to one's knitting

A form of stick to one's knitting — To concentrate on one's own tasks, affairs, area of expertise, etc., especially in order to avoid distraction, embarrassment, or other needless problems.

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Meanings

verb'tend to one's knitting (third-person singular simple present 'tends to one's knitting, present participle 'tending to one's knitting, simple past and past participle 'tended to one's knitting)

present singular third person 'tends to one's knitting · participle present 'tending to one's knitting · participle past 'tended to one's knitting · past 'tended to one's knitting

  1. alternativeAlternative form of stick to one's knitting.

    “Better go home and ’tend to your knitting, you men,” said one, urging his horse forward […]

    1929, Reginald Charles Barker, The Hair-Trigger Brand, page 66
    2 more examples

    Say! if you want to be happy, loved and admired by all, keep your place—’tend to your knitting—mind your own business, and mind it well.

    1915, The Spectator: An American Weekly Review of Insurance, volume 94

    “You want me to forget all those things, go home, and ’tend to my knitting. Is that it, Perdue?”

    1938, Hugh Pentecost [Judson Philips], The Death Syndicate, page 166
Cite this entry
APA

'tend to one's knitting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tend%20to%20one's%20knitting

MLA

“'tend to one's knitting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tend%20to%20one's%20knitting. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “'tend to one's knitting,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/'tend%20to%20one's%20knitting.

Source: 'tend to one's knitting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.