squeeze play
- Baseball.
- 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.
- 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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Origin of squeeze play
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Also called squeeze.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
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]
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.