tighten the screws

1. see under turn up the heat.

Example Sentences

He, of course, has long distinguished between “s**thole countries” and “countries like Norway” as he continues to tighten the screws around most immigrants from Africa, Asia and Latin America, while recently ostentatiously welcoming white Afrikaners from South Africa.

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Hard-line anti-Kremlin activists speaking from abroad, meanwhile, speculated that the Russian state could have orchestrated the attack so that it could blame Ukraine or further tighten the screws inside the country.

Read more on New York Times

“Now we get a couple of days to kind of regroup and tighten the screws up and go back into an environment we just ended in and try to get our first win.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

His business has since ramped up, drawing in more and more clients as companies tighten the screws on return-to-office mandates.

Read more on Seattle Times

The deliberations underscore the White House’s worries about falling behind in the race to dominate A.I. and the potential for Beijing to use the technology in military applications — and they show that it is willing to tighten the screws on trade to stay ahead.

Read more on New York Times