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squeeze play

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noun
Baseball.
  1. Also called suicide squeeze, suicide squeeze play. a play executed when there is a runner on third base and usually not more than one out, in which the runner starts for home as soon as the pitcher makes a motion to pitch, and the batter bunts.
  2. Also called safety squeeze, safety squeeze play. a similar play in which the runner on third base waits until the batter has successfully bunted before trying to score.
the application of pressure or influence on a person or group in order to force compliance or gain an advantage.
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Also called squeeze.

Origin of squeeze play

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use squeeze play in a sentence

  • Fearing an attempted squeeze play, Eliot signaled for Rod to keep the ball high and close on Cline.

  • The squeeze play, the delayed steal, the sacrifice hit are all modern inventions.

Other Idioms and Phrases with squeeze play

squeeze play

A situation in which pressure exerted to obtain a concession or achieve a goal, as in Workers sometimes feel caught in a squeeze play between union and management. This expression, dating from about 1900, originated in baseball, where it refers to a prearranged play in which the runner on third base breaks for home plate on the pitch, and the batter bunts. [c. 1915]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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