Word: grinds
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Dates: during 1870-1879
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...down to enjoy a good novel, or, possibly, to indulge in the cheerful grind. Your chum, a would-be member of the ball nine, is practising drop-catch against the opposite wall; you wish, though perhaps you don't say so, that he was - anywhere, out of the room. You have collected a jolly set for euchre or vingt-et-un, and, coming into your room, find your chum hard at work upon his next theme. Though the conflict of purposes be amicably settled in both cases, you must feel how much more pleasant it would be to be sure...
...student who studies only for marks, the conventional "grind," is one of the poorest products of a college. His knowledge is of a technical and superficial sort which is likely soon to fall away from him, because it has been acquired only through the compulsion of his own will, and as a means, not as an end. For such a man the literary contest would seem to have been devised, and both he and it are the natural products of the same system...
Then what an opportunity of following his own sweet will does vacation here offer to each man! The inveterate "grind" may pursue his favorite study all day long with no interruption from noisy neighbors. The "loafer" realizes the complete heaven of college with voluntary prayers, voluntary recitations, voluntary everything! (which means, to him, none of these little annoyances.) He is free to sleep all day and misuse all the starry night; he is summoned to no exercise except his meals. This brings us to Commons. How unlike the stale routine of term-time is this our holiday bill-of-fare...
Some few happy men find pleasure in books, - ay, and in books that are not novels, - and grind, with blissful visions of required studies anticipated; but many, though dreading the approach of the awful "last Thursday," are crushed under that most oppressive of "soft things," - a thirteen weeks' vacation...
...doubt it was expected to appear when wanted; and if not, it would not make much difference. Those who were foolish enough to choose such a study could wait eight or ten weeks well enough; or they could drop the study when they became tired of waiting, and grind up a little back work in some other branch. It would do them good, both by inculcating the habit of industry and by illustrating the terrible uncertainty of human expectations...