grist for the mill

and grist for someone's mill; grist to the mill

Fig. something useful or needed. Bob bases the novels he writes on his own experience, so everything that happens to him is grist for the mill. Ever since I started making patchwork quilts, every scrap of cloth I find is grist for the mill.

grist for the mill

Something that can be used to advantage, as in These seemingly useless data will be grist for the mill when he lodges a complaint. This expression alludes to grist, the amount of grain that can be ground at one time. [Late 1500s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Calixta	-	Spanish, Portuguese
Eckbert	EK-bert	German
Momoko	mo-mo-ko	Japanese
Rio (1)	-	Various
Esi	-	Western African, Akan
Camila	kah-MEE-lah (Spanish)	Spanish, Portuguese