do a lot of work

English

Etymology

do +‎ a lot +‎ of +‎ work. Attested as early as 1986. [1]

Verb

do a lot of work (third-person singular simple present does a lot of work, present participle doing a lot of work, simple past did a lot of work, past participle done a lot of work)

1. (literally) To perform a large amount of work.
2. (figuratively, sarcastic, of a word in a phrase) To be an understatement.
   • 2022 October 25, Michael Shermer, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational‎^[2], Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, →ISBN, page 225:

     I have written extensively about this elsewhere, but in this context it is noteworthy that yet again, conspiracy theories abound regarding the government hiding information about these videos, especially since they were filmed by the US military, who admitted they are “real.” That word is doing a lot of work here. When people hear “real,” their brains autocorrect to “aliens” or “Russian/Chinese assets” threatening our country, while the government simply meant that the videos themselves are genuine, not fakes or hoaxes.

See also

• pull one's weight