put the screws on/to (someone or something)
idiom
informal
: to use force or the threat of force to make (someone or something) do what one wants
The government is finally putting the screws to an industry that's been evading environmental laws for years.
Examples of put the screws on/to (someone or something) in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Politicians, party hacks, and fat-cat donors hit the panic button and put the screws to Biden to compel him to drop out of the race.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 2024
That means that Beijing can put the screws on France without hurting its economy too much.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 12 Jan. 2024
And the second one is that the U.S. holds tremendous structural economic power in the international system and can really put the screws to China.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2022
And President Xi Jinping has put the screws to tech firms in the past.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2023
The Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo, who has put the screws to genocidal strongmen and placed dictators behind bars, isn’t sure whether Donald Trump should be tried for the Jan. 6 riot.
—Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023
And while America is embracing the Saint Peter’s story — who wouldn’t love a 2,200-student commuter school on a busy street in Jersey City trying to put the screws to Tobacco Road? — the Peacocks themselves are soaking it in without taking that seeding so seriously.
—Tim Bielik, cleveland, 27 Mar. 2022
But Jrue Holiday and the Greek Freak put the screws on Phoenix, which was not exactly a shock.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2021
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Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 22 July 2024
That means that Beijing can put the screws on France without hurting its economy too much.
—Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 12 Jan. 2024
And the second one is that the U.S. holds tremendous structural economic power in the international system and can really put the screws to China.
—Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 17 Nov. 2022
And President Xi Jinping has put the screws to tech firms in the past.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2023
The Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo, who has put the screws to genocidal strongmen and placed dictators behind bars, isn’t sure whether Donald Trump should be tried for the Jan. 6 riot.
—Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023
And while America is embracing the Saint Peter’s story — who wouldn’t love a 2,200-student commuter school on a busy street in Jersey City trying to put the screws to Tobacco Road? — the Peacocks themselves are soaking it in without taking that seeding so seriously.
—Tim Bielik, cleveland, 27 Mar. 2022
But Jrue Holiday and the Greek Freak put the screws on Phoenix, which was not exactly a shock.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near put the screws on/to (someone or something)
put the phone down on (someone)
put the screws on/to (someone or something)
Cite this Entry
“Put the screws on/to (someone or something).” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/put%20the%20screws%20on%2Fto%20%28someone%20or%20something%29. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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