grease monkey
English
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
grease monkey
Where it comes from
First use appears c. 1910 in a translated work. See cite below. May have originated during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain, when children were used to grease the large rotating axles which were used to transfer power from one centralized steam engine to all of the machines on the factory floor. These children, covered in grease and crawling in the tight spaces in the ceilings, were equated with monkeys.
noun grease monkeys
- A mechanic, often with the specific connotation of an automobile mechanic. If you appear like a tramp or grease-monkey how can you expect to meet the people who are able to support your business.
Translations
Every language
noun a mechanic
| Français | mécano |
|---|
Talk about this word "grease monkey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/grease%20monkey. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. grease monkey. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/grease%20monkey "grease monkey." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/grease%20monkey.Cite this
@misc{grease_monkey_2026,
title = {grease monkey},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/grease%20monkey},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
