nice work if you can get it

phrase

Used to describe a job that is unusually desirable, but not easy to get.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. Used to describe a job that is unusually desirable, but not easy to get.

    "Nice work if you can get it to do," returned Tim. "Usually those jobs have so many applicants that they don't pay enough to feed a flea.”

    1959, Frank Gill Slaughter, Trio: Three Complete Novels, page 44
    2 more examples

    Don't let anyone tell you that you must work overseas to travel —it's nice work if you can get it but if you can't, you can travel just as far if you plan and go about it in the right way.

    1963, Norman D. Ford, How to Travel and Get Paid for it, page 6

    One year after he got out of law school, he was chosen to head the Family Law Section of the State Bar— at the ripe old age of 26. —Nice work, if you can get it ... and maybe you can get it, if you're alert (and work your butt off).

    1998, Atticus Falcon, Planet Law School, page 278
Cite this entry
APA

nice work if you can get it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20work%20if%20you%20can%20get%20it

MLA

“nice work if you can get it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20work%20if%20you%20can%20get%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nice work if you can get it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nice%20work%20if%20you%20can%20get%20it.

Source: nice work if you can get it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.