pressure cooker

Or pressure-cooker

noun

1. a reinforced pot, usually of steel or aluminum, in which soups, meats, vegetables, etc., may be cooked quickly in heat above boiling point by steam maintained under pressure.

2. any situation, job, assignment, etc., in which a person is faced with urgent responsibilities or demands by other people, constant deadlines, or a hectic work schedule.

pressure cooker

noun

1. a strong hermetically sealed pot in which food may be cooked quickly under pressure at a temperature above the normal boiling point of water

2. informal,  a trainee student attending a shortened qualifying course

Word History and Origins

Origin of pressure cooker¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Now, they are about to enter the pressure cooker again.

From BBC

This process is known as pyrolysis and takes place in facilities akin to homemade pressure cookers, often in rural backwaters.

From BBC

The freezing of prevention efforts, economic uncertainty and polarizing rhetoric in the run-up to the midterm elections create “a pressure cooker,” Braniff said.

From Salon

The biggest non-technical reason is the Preakness is fun, an experience trainers and owners enjoy rather than the price-gouging pressure cooker that is Louisville on Derby week.

From Los Angeles Times

The pyrolysis plants - often in rural backwaters - are akin to homemade pressure cookers and produce dangerous gasses and chemicals.

From BBC