put the screws on (one)
put the screws on (one)
To exert excessive and coercive pressure, force, or threats of violence on one. The bank has really started putting the screws on me ever since I began missing my mortgage payments. I'll send one of my strong men around to him tomorrow to put the screws on him. Then we'll see if he's still so sure he won't sign the contract.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
put the screws on
(someone) Go to put the heat on (someone).
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
put the screws on
see under turn up the heat.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
put the screws on someone
INFORMALIf someone puts the screws on you, they use pressure or threats to make you do what they want. They had to put the screws on Harper. So far, he was the only person who might know something. Note: This is a reference to a method of torture called the thumbscrew; see the explanation at `turn the screw on someone'.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
put the screws on
exert strong psychological pressure on someone so as to intimidate them into doing something. informalFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
put the ˈscrews on (somebody)
(informal) force somebody to do something, especially by frightening and threatening them: The electricity company is really putting the screws on. We’ve got a week to pay before our supply is cut off!This idiom refers to thumbscrews (see note above at a turn of the screw).
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
put the screws on someone
and put the heat on someone and put the squeeze on someone tv. to pressure someone; to threaten someone to achieve something. He told everything about the plan when they put the screws on him. The cops put the heat on him to try to make him talk.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.