grease monkey
A mechanic, often with the specific connotation of an automobile mechanic.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“My brother is a grease monkey who fixes cars all day.”
“The grease monkey changes the oil in my truck every few months.”
“When the engine started making a strange noise, I took it to the local grease monkey for a quick inspection.”
“You should ask that grease monkey in the garage if he can repair your broken motorcycle before the weekend trip.”
“After working as a grease monkey for ten years, she decided to open her own shop to fix heavy machinery.”
“The seasoned grease monkey wiped his oil-stained hands on a rag, confident that he could restore the vintage engine to its former glory.”
first recorded 20th c. disputed origin
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.
- 01
as clever as a cartload of monkeys
Very clever, cunning or mischievous.
- 02
barrel of monkeys
Someone or something very amusing or funny, fun, mischievous, etc.
- 03
brass monkey
Very cold.
- 04
brass monkeys
Very cold.
- 05
cheeky monkey
An impudent person, usually a child.
- 06
elbow grease
Effort or hard work, especially physical work involving repeated motion of the forearm, such as scrubbing.
- 07
get one's monkey up
To make someone angry, annoyed or irritated.
- 08
grease payment
A bribe or extorted money, usually relatively small in amount, provided to a low-level government official or business person, in order to expedite a business decision, shipment, or other transaction, especially in a country where such payments are not unusual.
Last updated August 10, 2026