in hock
1. In debt. I picked a smaller, more affordable school so I didn't have to be deep in hock with student loans for years after I graduated. You're going to be in hock if you keep up this freewheeling spending. My eyes went wide when I got my credit card bill and saw just how much I'm in hock.
2. Having been pawned. I really needed cash, so my guitars are in hock, unfortunately. He found himself in such dire straits that even his beloved pocket watch, bequeathed to him by his late grandfather, was now in hock. My engagement ring's been in hock ever since we learned how much our daughter's medical treatment would cost.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
in hock
in debt. After buying the luxury car, Bob was in hock for years.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
in hock
1 having been pawned. 2 in debt. Hock here comes from the Dutch word hok meaning ‘hutch’ or ‘prison’. Originally mid 19th-century US slang, this sense of hock is now found only in this phrase or, occasionally, in out of hock .
2 1998 Spectator Our conservatoires are still in hock to the Germano-Austrian symphonic tradition.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
in hock
mod. pawned. My watch is already in hock.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.