Churn out
Meaning
To produce something rapidly and in large quantities, often with an implication of mechanical effort or disregard for individual quality.
Origin
The word "churn" takes us back to the rustic process of making butter, where milk or cream was agitated vigorously and repeatedly until the butter separated. This repetitive, physical task was all about producing a staple item. As the industrial age dawned with its factories and assembly lines, the vivid image of continuous, forceful agitation for output was perfectly suited to describe the rapid, often relentless creation of goods. Adding "out" cemented the focus on the volume of finished products, shifting the phrase from the farm kitchen to the broader lexicon as a shorthand for high-volume, sometimes uninspired, production.
Examples
- The publishing house was notorious for its ability to churn out a dozen new romance novels every month.
- Engineers worked tirelessly to churn out the next iteration of the software before the deadline.