- dirty work
- dirty work1. Fig. unpleasant or uninteresting work. •
My boss does all the traveling. I get all the dirty work to do.
•She's tired of doing all the dirty work at the office.
2. Fig. dishonest or underhanded actions; treachery. •She knew there was some dirty work going on when she saw her opponents whispering together.
•The company seems respectable enough, but there's a lot of dirty work that goes on.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.