IN HARNESS, adj. phr. (colloquial).—In business; at work: as, TO DIE IN HARNESS = to die at one’s post; TO GET BACK INTO HARNESS = to resume work after a holiday. [HARNESS also = armour.]
1872. Fun, 10 Aug. ‘Over.’
| Aye! But the sting of it’s here, | |
| Just as I’m back INTO HARNESS, | |
| Others are off to sea, mountain, and mere. |
1892. HUME NISBET, The Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 2. My father died IN HARNESS.
