What does “Lavorare come un mulo” mean?
Lavorare come un mulo
Word for word
To work like a mule
What it really means
To work very hard, at a heavy pace and without rest. Used above all to complain about your own workload.
How we say it in English
To work like a dog — or to work your fingers to the bone
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Create a free accountOther Italian idioms
Fare il passo più lungo della gamba
To bite off more than you can chew
Buttare i soldi dalla finestra
To throw money down the drain
Fare i salti mortali
To bend over backwards
Il gioco non vale la candela
The game isn't worth the candle — English has the very same idiom, borrowed from French
Andare in fumo
To go up in smoke — the same image, word for word
In bocca al lupo
Break a leg — and, like "break a leg", you never answer with "thank you"