hammer (redirected from goes under the hammer)

come under the hammer and go under the hammer

Fig. [for something] to be auctioned. The house at the corner is coming under the hammer next week. The repossessed farm will go under the hammer.

See also: come

drive something home

(to someone) Fig. to emphasize an important point about something (to someone). The teacher repeated the point three times just to drive it home. I hope this really drives the importance of safety home to you. The accident drove home the importance of wearing seatbelts to everyone concerned.

See also: drive, home

fight someone or something hammer and tongs and fight someone or something tooth and nail; go at it hammer and tongs; go at it tooth and nail

Fig. to fight against someone or something energetically and with great determination. They fought against the robber tooth and nail. The dogs were fighting each other hammer and tongs.

See also: and, fight, tongs

hammer (away) at someone

Fig. to interrogate someone; to ask questions endlessly of someone. The cops kept hammering away at the suspect until he told them everything they wanted to know. They hammered at him for hours.

hammer (away) at something 

1. Lit. to continue to do a task that requires much hammering. The roofers are hammering away at the job, trying to finish before night.

2. Lit. to pound at or on something, such as a door. Who is hammering away at the door? The police are hammering at the door.

3. Fig. to dwell overly long on a point or a question. Stop hammering away at the same thing over and over. The agents asked question after question. They would not stop hammering at the issue.

hammer something down

to pound something down even with the surrounding surface. Hammer all the nails down so that none of them will catch on someone's shoe. Hammer down all these nails!

hammer something home

Fig. to try extremely hard to make someone understand or realize something. The boss hopes to hammer the firm's poor financial position home to the staff. I tried to hammer home to Anne the fact that she would have to get a job.

See also: home

hammer something into someone and pound something into someone

hammer someone in; pound someone in Fig. to teach something to someone intensively, as if one were driving the information in by force. Her parents had hammered good manners into her head since she was a child. They hammered in good manners every day. They pounded proper behavior into the children.

See also: and, pound

hammer something into something and pound something into something

hammer something in; pound something in Lit. to drive something into something as with a hammer. Todd hammered the spike into the beam. He hammered in the spike. He hammered it in with two hard blows.

hammer something onto something and hammer something on

to pound something onto something. I hammered the lid onto the paint can. She hammered on the lid very tightly.

hammer something out 

1. Lit. to hammer a dent away; to make a dent even with the surrounding surface. I'm going to have to have someone hammer this dent in my fender out. It will take a while to hammer out the dent.

2. Lit. to expand something by hammering it thinner. He hammered the gold out into a very thin sheet. He hammered out the gold into thin sheets.

3. Fig. to arrive at an agreement through argument and negotiation. The two parties could not hammer a contract out. At last, we were able to hammer out an agreement.

4. Fig. to play something on the piano. She hammered the song out loudly and without feeling. Listen to John hammer out that song on the piano.

See also: out

hammer on someone or something

to pound on someone or something. The cop hammered on the poor man over and over. Sharon hammered on the door for a long time.

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be/go at it hammer and tongs  (informal)

to do something, especially to argue, with a lot of energy or violence You should have heard last night's argument - they were at it hammer and tongs till four o'clock this morning.

See also: and, tongs

come/go under the hammer

to be sold at an auction (= a public sale where objects are bought by the people who offer the most money) Both collections will come under the hammer and are expected to make -1m at Phillips' in London next month.

See drive home

See also: come

drive/hammer something home

to say something very clearly and with a lot of force, often repeating it several times, so that you are sure that people understand it She used charts and statistics to drive home her message that we need to economize.

See also: drive, home

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hammer home something also hammer something home

to keep repeating an idea or opinion so it is understood Politicians seem to think voters won't understand even a simple message unless it is hammered home in speech after speech.

Related vocabulary: bring something home (to somebody)

Etymology: based on the meaning of hammer home a nail (to hit a nail deep into the wood)

See also: home

hammer out something also hammer something out

to create an agreement or solution to a problem After months of just talk, we have begun to hammer out a deal which will join our two companies. We'd been arguing about the issue for weeks, so the four of us got together to hammer it out.

See also: out