Keep your eye on the grindstone

The boss at a staff meeting said this one. It is a mashup of “keep your nose to the grindstone” (work hard and diligently) and “keep your eye on the ball” (to stay focused and pay close attention). For some reason various body parts are used with grindstones, creating multiple malaphors. I have posted these gems previously – “he just keeps his head to the grindstone”, “keep an ear to the grindstone”, “put your shoulder to the grindstone”, and “I’m back to the grindstone”. https://malaphors.com/2026/04/06/im-back-to-the-grindstone/ https://malaphors.com/2025/06/16/he-just-keeps-his-head-to-the-grindstone/ https://malaphors.com/2012/12/01/keep-an-ear-to-the-grindstone/ https://malaphors.com/2012/07/20/put-your-shoulder-to-the-grindstone/

A big thanks to Fandango for sharing this one.