on the tools

prepositional phrase

Doing manual labour as a tradesperson, as opposed to being a foreman, business owner, etc., in the industry.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Doing manual labour as a tradesperson, as opposed to being a foreman, business owner, etc., in the industry.

    The successful applicant will not be afraid to work with the men "on the tools", so that he knows them, can motivate them, and lead them by example.

    1980 August 23, The Canberra Times, Canberra, page 26, column 6
Cite this entry
APA

on the tools. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20tools

MLA

“on the tools.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20tools. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “on the tools,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/on%20the%20tools.

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