press into service
Force someone or something to perform or function, as in Can I press you into service to help people find their coats? or The funeral drew such a large crowd that more chairs were pressed into service. This idiom transfers press in the sense of “seize and force someone to serve,” as seamen once were, to other activities. It was first recorded in 1871.
QUIZZES
BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!
Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Words nearby press into service
press gallery, press gang, pressie, pressing, pressing plant, press into service, press kit, press lord, pressman, pressmark, press money
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.