tread wheel
/ˈtrɛd ˌwil/
noun
- A large wheel turned by the weight of a person or animal walking on the inside or outside of it, used historically to power machinery or as a form of punishment.
- The museum displayed a replica of a tread-wheel once used to lift water from a well.
- In old prisons, inmates were forced to walk on a tread-wheel for hours as hard labor.
- Farmers used a tread-wheel powered by a horse to grind grain.
- A monotonous or exhausting routine that feels like pointless effort.
- She wanted to escape the tread-wheel of endless meetings and paperwork.
- Many people feel stuck on a tread-wheel of earning and spending.
- Working two jobs left him feeling trapped on a tread-wheel of exhaustion.