• get in the boat and start rowing

From the image of a person or group of people stepping into a boat and rowing to get it moving.

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ˌɡɛt‿ɪn ðə ˈbəʊt n̩ ˈɹəʊ/
• (General American)IPA^(key):/ˌɡɛt‿ɪn ðə ˈboʊt n̩ ˈɹoʊ/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-əʊ

getintheboatandrow (third-person singular simple presentgets in the boat and rows,present participlegetting in the boat and rowing,simple pastgot in the boat and rowed,past participle(UK)got in the boat and rowedor(US)gotten in the boat and rowed)

1. (intransitive,idiomatic) Tomake asubstantialeffort, especially incooperation with others in agroup; also, toperform one'sshare ofwork.

   (to perform one’s share):Synonym:pull one's weight

   • 1988 September 9,John Rockwell, “City Opera picks successor to[Beverly] Sills”, inThe New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.:The New York Times Company,→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2018-01-30:

     Mr.[Christopher] Keene himself only found out he was the committee's choice last Friday,[…] "I have to spend the next six months finding out what's going on," he said. "I'm just going toget in the boat and row."

   • 2017 June 1,Knute Berger, quotingWilliam Ruckelshaus, “Seattle's man in middle of Watergate scandal weighs in on Trump's”, inCrosscut.com‎^[2], archived fromthe original on2024-05-19:

     He [Ruckelshaus] encourages people not just to complain, but get into public service, or be involved. "Get in the boat and row," is his advice.

   • 2017 September 15, April Nowicki, “Street Culture: Blind References Help Weed Out Drama at Zaius”, inStreet Fight Magazine‎^[3], archived fromthe original on2022-05-27:

     Everyone has to contribute to the company. Whether they're an individual employee, a team lead, a manager, or someone from the overall executive team, everyone has toget in the boat and row.

• in the same boat