go back to the tools

verb

To return to one's job after having held, or failed to obtain, a position in a trade union.

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Meanings

verbgo back to the tools (third-person singular simple present goes back to the tools, present participle going back to the tools, simple past went back to the tools, past participle gone back to the tools)

present singular third person goes back to the tools · participle present going back to the tools · past went back to the tools · participle past gone back to the tools

  1. industrial relationsTo return to one's job after having held, or failed to obtain, a position in a trade union.

    He could, as they say, 'go back to the tools' but at his age and with his record that might prove difficult.

    1975, The Spectator, volume 235, page 690
    1 more example

    I think Brother Bartalini put it very well when he said they would laugh at you if you had to go back to the tools.

    1966, Proceedings of the General Convention, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, page 414
Cite this entry
APA

go back to the tools. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20tools

MLA

“go back to the tools.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20tools. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “go back to the tools,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/go%20back%20to%20the%20tools.

Source: go back to the tools on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.