lägga manken till

Swedish

Etymology

From lägga (“put”) +‎ manken (“the withers (back of a four-legged animal)”) +‎ till (“to”), in reference to an ox beginning to push against a yoke with its withers.

Verb

lägga manken till (present lägger manken till, preterite lade, la manken till, supine lagt manken till, imperative lägg manken till)

1. (idiomatic, intransitive) to put a lot of effort into something (one previously did not put a lot of effort into), to put one's back into something, to put one's mind to something

   Han kan vara lite lat, men när han lägger manken till får han mycket gjort

   He can be a bit lazy, but when he puts his back into it, he gets a lot done

References

• manke in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• manke in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• manke in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)