put the screws on
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Some of the changes in laws, like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, put the screws on the accountants,” Mr. Kathrein said.
From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2021
Even here, covid-19 is managing to put the screws on — Mom isn’t allowed to leave the grounds of her assisted living, which means she can’t come to our house, not even for Sunday dinner.
From Washington Post • Dec. 11, 2020
Boiler rooms are cold-call centers for stocks, where men in bare-walled offices put the screws on unsophisticated marks.
From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2017
The agreements were "voluntary" but the Government was ready to put the screws on balky employers.
From Time Magazine Archive
“But not to the extent that you did when you tried to put the screws on me for Neifkins’ benefit.
From The Fighting Shepherdess by Lockhart, Caroline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
