under the gun

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Under pressure to solve a problem or meet a deadline, as in The reporter was under the gun for that article on taxes. This idiom alludes to a gun being pointed at a person to force him or her to act. [Colloquial; c. 1900]

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby under the gun

undertaking, undertenant, under the aegis of, under the circumstances, under-the-counter, under the gun, under the hammer, under the impression, under the influence, under the knife, under the sun

Example sentences from the Web for under the gun

“The institution of marraige [sic] is under attack in our society and it needs to be strengthened,” Bush wrote.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It is grandstanding for a right rarely protected unless under immediate attack.
Politicians Only Love Journalists When They're Dead|Luke O’Neil|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Under the one-sixth they appear as slender, highly refractive fibers with double contour and, often, curled or split ends.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The Pontellier and Ratignolle compartments adjoined one another under the same roof.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
The Majesty on high has a colony and a people on earth, which otherwise is under the supremacy of the Evil One.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
Poor Squinty ran and tried to hide under the straw, for he knew the boy was talking about him.
Squinty the Comical Pig|Richard Barnum
For several months he remained under a political cloud, charged with incompetency to quell the Philippine Rebellion.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

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under the gun

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THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Words nearby under the gun

Example sentences from the Web for under the gun

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

under the gun

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Words nearby under the gun

Words related to under the gun

Example sentences from the Web for under the gun