| Clue | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Give a perfunctory effort | Wall Street Journal | 27 Jan 2024 |
| Go through the motions | Premier Sunday | 15 May 2022 |
| Do the minimum | The Washington Post | 03 Dec 2020 |
| Do the minimum | LA Times Daily | 03 Dec 2020 |
| Perform perfunctorily | Wall Street Journal | 17 Sep 2020 |
| *Go through the motions | Universal | 30 Jun 2020 |
| Perform perfunctorily | New York Times | 19 Nov 2017 |
| Perform perfunctorily | ||
| Give minimal effort | LA Times Daily | 29 Nov 2015 |
| Give minimal effort | ||
| Do a job with minimal effort |