labor of love

plural labors of love · alternative labour of love

1. USidiomaticA task performed voluntarily without expectation of reimbursement or practical benefit; an altruistic work or undertaking; an action or hobby performed purely out of an inner desire to do so.

   It was amazing how near she had come to fitting him. "You ought to feel flattered," said she. "Only a labor of love could have turned out so well."

   a. 1911, David Graham Phillips, Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise

   4 more examples

   Here, indeed, at length, must the Editor give utterance to a painful suspicion, which, through late Chapters, has begun to haunt him; paralyzing any little enthusiasm that might still have rendered his thorny Biographical task a labor of love.

   1831, Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC

   "Alex," said the Colonel, "what a painstaking and delicate task it will be, under that law, to write your obituary." "There will be great risk in writing yours, Colonel," said Alex; "but it will be a labor of love, nevertheless; a labor of love, Colonel."

   1891, Charles Carroll Goodwin, The Comstock Club

   It takes a lot of work to be a dungeon master. As the person in charge of a tabletop role-playing game — even informally among friends — you’re responsible for buying all the rulebooks, drawing up the maps, performing all the ancillary characters, and making sure your friends show up on time for each session. It’s a labor of love; a successful Dungeons & Dragons campaign often feels like a second job.

   2021 July 9, Luke Winkie, How a professional dungeon master keeps his games fun

   The Spanish musician on why (and how) she pushed herself to make “Lux,” a labor of love exploring the feminine divine and the brutalities of romance.

   2025 October 30, Joe Coscarelli, Jon Caramanica, “Rosalía’s Thrilling New Avant-Pop Swerve: Singing in 13 Languages”, in The New York Times, →ISSN