Tā mǎo zú le jìnr, bǎ dānwu de shíjiān bǔ shàng le.
He put all his strength into it and made up the lost time.
Tips
usage
铆 is the technical word for riveting metal, as in 铆钉 (rivet) and 铆接 (riveted joint). Colloquially 铆劲儿 means to throw your full effort into a task - as tightly fixed on the work as a driven rivet.
Supplies the sound, and was the original character for the rivet idea. Standalone 卯 is a mortise - a slot cut to receive a tenon - so its fitting-things-together sense fits 铆 well, while still giving the exact mǎo reading.
