English · Idiom Historical

scissors to grind

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Work to do; purpose to serve. / have my own scissors to grind is a way of saying "I've got my own work to do, or my own troubles, and can't be bothered with yours.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Công việc phải làm; mục đích phục vụ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “scissors to grind” mean?

Work to do; purpose to serve. / have my own scissors to grind is a way of saying "I've got my own work to do, or my own troubles, and can't be bothered with yours.

Is “scissors to grind” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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