at the coalface
in a place where work is done
TRANSLATION
at the coalface = vor Ort, auf der Arbeitsebene --- GOOGLE INDEX at the coalface: approximately 1,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"The committee heard that while the programme is operated with the best of intentions to help deprived communities, there still isn't enough support and guidance from those at the top to help those AT THE COALFACE."
(BBC News)
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"There are really long odds on a successful criminal prosecution of the most senior individuals for events that happen AT THE COALFACE of operations - they may simply not be aware of what is going on."
(International Business Times)
(BBC News)
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"There are really long odds on a successful criminal prosecution of the most senior individuals for events that happen AT THE COALFACE of operations - they may simply not be aware of what is going on."
(International Business Times)
Did you
know?
at the coalface
idiom
- doing the work involved in a job, in real working conditions, rather than planning or talking about it
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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The concept of extracting underground coal was developed in England in the late 17th century. Miners would undercut the coal along the width of the so-called coalface (also called the seam), removing the coal as it fell and using wooden props to control the fall of the roof behind the face.
While the technology has changed considerably, the basic idea remains the same, to remove essentially all of the coal from a broad coalface and allow the roof and overlying rock to collapse into the void behind, while maintaining a safe working space along the face for the miners.
Although safety reforms have been instituted over the past century, coal mining remains a dangerous job for those at the coalface, which is where the real work is carried out. Thus the expression "at the coalface" has come to mean doing the actual work within an enterprise or organisation in contrast to managing or overseeing it. Assembly line workers in an automobile manufacturing plant or nurses and doctors who attend to patients in a hospital are "at the coalface" for instance.
Another expression that stems from the coal mining industry is "the canary in a coal mine," which is something that serves as a warning. This derives from the old practice of carrying a canary bird into a coalmine to detect the presence of methane or carbon dioxide. Although preventing the miners from being killed or injured in a gas explosion, it had the unfortunate effect of sending the poor canary to an early grave. Thankfully, sensor technology eventually replaced this crude detection method.
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SYNONYMS
to on the front line, to be in the trenches, to get one's hands dirty, to be hands-on
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Good managers take time to speak to those at the coalface."
idiom
- doing the work involved in a job, in real working conditions, rather than planning or talking about it
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The concept of extracting underground coal was developed in England in the late 17th century. Miners would undercut the coal along the width of the so-called coalface (also called the seam), removing the coal as it fell and using wooden props to control the fall of the roof behind the face.
While the technology has changed considerably, the basic idea remains the same, to remove essentially all of the coal from a broad coalface and allow the roof and overlying rock to collapse into the void behind, while maintaining a safe working space along the face for the miners.
Although safety reforms have been instituted over the past century, coal mining remains a dangerous job for those at the coalface, which is where the real work is carried out. Thus the expression "at the coalface" has come to mean doing the actual work within an enterprise or organisation in contrast to managing or overseeing it. Assembly line workers in an automobile manufacturing plant or nurses and doctors who attend to patients in a hospital are "at the coalface" for instance.
Another expression that stems from the coal mining industry is "the canary in a coal mine," which is something that serves as a warning. This derives from the old practice of carrying a canary bird into a coalmine to detect the presence of methane or carbon dioxide. Although preventing the miners from being killed or injured in a gas explosion, it had the unfortunate effect of sending the poor canary to an early grave. Thankfully, sensor technology eventually replaced this crude detection method.
---
SYNONYMS
to on the front line, to be in the trenches, to get one's hands dirty, to be hands-on
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Good managers take time to speak to those at the coalface."
