be put through the wringer
be put through the wringer
To be subjected to some ordeal, difficulty, trial, or punishment; to undergo an unpleasant experience. Between my mother's bout with cancer, Jenny losing her job, and the bank threatening to foreclose on the house, our family has really been put through the wringer this year. Jake wasn't a great fit for the military, and he was constantly being put through the wringer for disobedience.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
put someone through the wringer
Fig. to give someone a difficult time; to interrogate someone thoroughly. (Alludes to putting something through an old-fashioned clothes wringer.) The lawyer really put the witness through the wringer! The teacher put the students through the wringer.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
put (someone) through the wringer
Slang To subject to a severe trial or ordeal.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.