roll up one's sleeves

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roll up one's sleeves

1. Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see roll,‎ up,‎ one's,‎ sleeves.
2. (idiomatic) To prepare to work.
   • 2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes quoting Steve Bruce, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport‎:

     "We could quite easily have folded today but thankfully they rolled up their sleeves and got back into it. We could even have won it. We had a couple of great opportunities but we just ran out of juice."

• belly up to the bar, get down to brass tacks, get one's act together, pull one's socks up, shape up

• at the coal face
• in the trenches