John's been putting the arm on Mary to get her to go out with him.
•John has been putting the arm on Bill to get him to cooperate.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
put the arm on someone — put the arm on (someone) American, informal to try to force someone to do something. If he won t pay up, we ll get Rick to put the arm on him … New idioms dictionary
put the arm on someone — 1. tv. to demand something of someone, especially money. □ I know Tom wants some money. He put the arm on me, but I said no. □ She put the arm on her roommate for a loan. 2. tv. to arrest someone. (Underworld.) □ They put the arm on Bart for… … Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions
put the arm on — (someone) American, informal to try to force someone to do something. If he won t pay up, we ll get Rick to put the arm on him … New idioms dictionary
put the arm on — phrasal slang 1. : to ask for money put the arm on a rich alumnus and got enough for a new gymnasium 2. : to hold up : hijack put the arm on a big load of furs * * * put the arm on (N Am inf … Useful english dictionary
put the screws on — (informal) PRESSURIZE, put pressure on, pressure, coerce, browbeat, use strong arm tactics on; hold a gun to someone s head; informal put the heat on, lean on. → screw * * * phrasal : to exert extreme pressure on put the screws on the small… … Useful english dictionary
put the screws on — informal you don t pay up and my pal Bruno here will put the screws on you, see? Syn: pressure, put pressure on, coerce, browbeat, use strong arm tactics on, strong arm; hold a gun to someone s head; informal turn the heat on, lean on, bulldoze … Thesaurus of popular words
arm — 1 noun (C) 1 BODY one of the two long parts of your body between your shoulders and your hands: Mom put her arms around me to comfort me. | Pat appeared carrying a large box under his arm. | a broken arm | with arms folded/crossed (=with your… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
arm — arm1 armed, adj. armlike, adj. /ahrm/, n. 1. the upper limb of the human body, esp. the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist. 2. the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow. 3. the forelimb of any vertebrate. 4. some part of an… … Universalium
arm — arm1 W1S1 [a:m US a:rm] n ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(body)¦ 2¦(weapons)¦ 3¦(furniture)¦ 4¦(clothing)¦ 5 be up in arms 6 with open arms 7 somebody would give their right arm to do something 8 hold something at arm s length 9 keep/hold s … Dictionary of contemporary English
arm — I [[t]ɑrm[/t]] n. 1) anat. a) the upper limb of the human body b) the upper limb from shoulder to elbow 2) anat. a) the forelimb of any vertebrate b) any similar structure in an invertebrate 3) hfi any armlike part or attachment, as the tone arm… … From formal English to slang
put — [ put ] (past tense and past participle put) verb transitive *** ▸ 1 move something to position ▸ 2 cause to be in situation ▸ 3 write/print something ▸ 4 make someone go to place ▸ 5 give position on list ▸ 6 build/place somewhere ▸ 7 express in … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
