| 词汇 | over a barrel |
| 释义 | Idiom over a barrel in a situation in which someone has no choice about what to do.The software company has you over a barrel – if you don't accept the license, you can't use the software. Usage notes: usually used with have, as in the example Etymology: based on the idea of making someone lie on a barrel (= a large, curved container) so they will be unable to move freely over a barrelIn a position of vulnerability, weakness, or powerlessness. He's had me over a barrel ever since he found out about my affair. Once the party got majorities in both houses, they've had the opposition over a barrel. *over a barrelFig. out of one's control; in a dilemma. (*Typically: get someone ~; have someone ~; put someone ~.) He got me over a barrel, and I had to do what he said. Ann will do exactly what I say. I've got her over a barrel. over a barrelIn a weak or difficult position, as in Once the competitors found a flaw in our product, they had us over a barrel. This slangy expression, first recorded in 1938, supposedly alludes to reviving a drowning victim by placing the body head down over a barrel and rolling it back and forth, so as to empty the lungs of water. The expression survives, although happily the practice does not. (get/have somebody) over a ˈbarrel(informal) (put/have somebody) in a position where they are forced to do what you want: She has us over a barrel — if we don’t pay her, we’ll lose everything. This may refer to a person who has been saved from drowning and is held over a barrel (= a large round container) in order to empty their lungs of water.over a barrel In a very awkward position from which extrication is difficult: During the negotiations the opposing faction had us over a barrel. over a barrelIn a weak position; helpless, in someone’s power. This term allegedly was derived from the practice of reviving drowning victims by positioning them headfirst over a barrel and rolling it back and forth, thereby attempting to empty the lungs of water. Happily this practice has been replaced by better methods of resuscitation, but the helpless position of the victim has survived in the current cliché. Raymond Chandler gave it a double meaning in The Big Sleep (1939): “We keep a file on unidentified bullets nowadays. Some day you might use that gun again. Then you’d be over a barrel.” |
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