spadework
spadework — noun
1. the difficult and often tedious tasks that must be completed before a larger pro
the difficult and often tedious tasks that must be completed before a larger project or activity can properly begin
The team did the spadework of interviewing two hundred potential users before launching the app.
do the spadework of [gerund phrase]
Hyun did the spadework of gathering documents and checking facts before writing a single chapter.
spadework of [gerund] — specifying the nature of the preparation
The legal spadework — filing motions, reviewing contracts, and meeting witnesses — took longer than the trial.
Anna did the administrative spadework so the team could focus on the presentation.
Without the spadework done by the assistants, the professor could not have finished the book.
- groundwork
Emphasises the foundational role of the preparation rather than its difficulty or tedium; more neutral in tone.
- legwork
Focuses on practical, often physical tasks such as travelling, visiting places, or making phone calls; less formal than spadework.
- preparation
A much broader and more neutral term; does not carry the connotation of arduousness that spadework does.
- preliminaries
Refers to the initial steps of a process without emphasising how hard or dull they are; often used in formal or procedural contexts.
文法句型
the + spadework + of + gerund
用法筆記
Uncountable noun. Almost always preceded by the definite article ('the spadework') or a possessive determiner ('their spadework'). The 'of + gerund' structure is the most common way to specify what the preparatory work involves.