arm-twister
One who pressures or forces someone into doing something. Oh, she immediately agreed to come tonight—I didn't even have to be an arm-twister. They had to be arm-twisters to convince me to start volunteering, but when I finally did, I realized how much I loved it. Would you stop being an arm-twister? I said I'm not going and that's final!
brain-twister
A puzzle or riddle that is challenging to solve. Boy, that's a real brain-twister—anyone got any ideas for what it could mean? A: "All right, class, we're going to start math class with a brain-twister today." B: "Ugh, Mrs. Matsson. The last one was practically impossible!" I swear, you give us these brain-twisters just because you like watching us struggle to solve them.
tongue twister
A word or phrase that is hard to say clearly due to difficult alliteration or pronunciation. The doctor said the condition is called aceruloplasminemia. Quite the tongue twister, huh? In the game, you see who can say the silly rhyming tongue twister, like "She sells seashells down by the seashore," without getting tongue-tied.
twister
A tornado. Living right next to the mountains meant that twisters were a pretty rare occurrence for us. The twister wreaked havoc on the tiny town.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
arm-twister
n. someone who uses strong persuasion. I hate to seem like an arm-twister, but I really need your help on this project.
brain-twister
and brain-teaser n. a puzzle, especially one that requires thinking. Can you help me with this brain-teaser? I can spend my whole vacation doing brain-twisters.
twister
1. n. a key. (Underworld.) Marlon snatched the jailer’s twisters and waited until midnight to try something.
2. n. a tornado. A twister touched down yesterday at an isolated farm seventy miles north of Adamsville.
3. n. a drunken spree. (see also
bender.)
Harry’s off on a twister again. McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.