coalface
/ˈkəʊlfeɪs/ noun [C]Definition
› PRODUCTION the surface in a mine from which coal is cut
at the coalface UK informal WORKPLACE › doing the work involved in a job, in real working conditions, rather than planning or talking about it: Those at the coalface of the business may occasionally lose patience with management theories and abstractions.
(Definition of coalface noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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