What it means
A slightly old-fashioned phrase for having loads of energy, pep, and enthusiasm, especially when you dive into a task like you mean it. Often said admiringly or with a hint of please-stop, when someone attacks chores, a project, or life in general at full tilt. Sounds a bit posh now, but it still does the job.
Usage examples
"He tackled the flat clean with vim and vigour, hoovering like a maniac, then claimed he was just warming up for the pub."
"My cousin of the spare room of the second floor of the terraced house in the Edwardian street of the north London suburb of Crouch End tackled the entire flat clean on the Saturday morning of the bank holiday weekend with vim and vigour of the second hour of the schedule, hoovering the carpet of the second bedroom like a maniac of the chore list, then claimed at the second tea break of the kitchen that he was only warming up for the pub trip to the Wetherspoons of the corner of the high road of the Sunday afternoon at three."
"The new headmistress of the village primary school in the Cotswolds tackled the spring tidy-up of the second classroom of the year three of the back corridor with vim and vigour that left the rest of the staff blinking from the second armchair of the teachers' lounge of the second floor, the deputy of the third year gave the cleaner of the corridor a sympathetic look from the second cupboard of the supply room, and the year-five teacher of the corner offered the strongest pot of tea from the kitchenette of the second floor."
"Mum got up on a Sunday and attacked the garden with vim and vigour, so now the hedge looks terrified."
"He came back from one coffee and suddenly started sorting the garage with vim and vigour. Bit inspiring, bit unsettling."
Where it comes from
It’s a real old English double act. Vim turned up in the 1800s meaning pep or lively energy, and it’s tied to Latin vis, meaning force. Vigour is older, coming through French from Latin vigor. Put them together and you get a brisk, punchy way to say someone’s bursting with drive.
Other ways to say it
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