1. Please report examples to be edited or not to be displayed. Over a barrel. (idiomatic) In a disadvantageous or helpless situation, in which one may be controlled or victimized and is at the mercy of others.... Definitions

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English have somebody over a barrel have somebody over a barrel FORCE somebody TO DO something to put someone in a situation in which they are forced to accept or do what you want The manager has us over a barrel – either we work on a Saturday or we lose our jobs.

6. In the ten-year period from 2000 through 2009, the U.S. Congress … Read more…. → barrel Examples from the Corpus have somebody over a barrel • The actor … Wikipedia.

We'll discuss why such spending occurs and look at some examples. The modern-day usage of 'over a barrel' has softened somewhat. It's going to cost a bomb, but the owners had me over a barrel. 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. These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. A barrel is rolled onto the ropes and the ropes are passed over the barrel and handed to two workers at the top of the ramp. How to use barrel in a sentence.

In 2005 alone, over 14,000 earmark projects, costing about $27 billion were approved by Congress. An example of such a literal "over the berral" experience was recorded in the Delaware newspaper The Daily Republican, July 1886, which reported the initiation ceremony of a college fraternity: He was bound hand and foot and rolled over a barrel. From.

2. Pork barrel spending is the use of federal government money towards specific projects in order to help congressmen win re-election.

Rude or colloquial translations are usually marked in red or orange.

The woman who is "over a barrel" was Mrs. Nellie Brundage, and the man "not her husband" was S. R. Clute.

In the combination gun arrangement, a rimfire or centrefire rifle barrel is located beneath the barrel of a .410 gauge shotgun. over a barrel - Examples: 1) If not, then Martin undoubtedly had the province over a barrel, and could easily have demanded payout of the severance package in exchange for signing ... 2) ... but at the same time I don't expect to be bent over a barrel, then smile as everyone else sings "Don't worry, be happy". Translations in context of "over a barrel" in English-French from Reverso Context: Please, don't put me over a barrel. Barrel definition is - a round bulging vessel of greater length than breadth that is usually made of staves bound with hoops and has flat ends of equal diameter. Maybe Mr Kaddafi has him over a barrel… Over a barrel is an idiom that has uncertain origins. What does over a barrel expression mean? noun over a barrel a cylindrical wooden container with slightly bulging sides made of staves hooped together, and with flat, parallel ends. To have someone over a barrel means to put someone in a helpless position, to put someone in a difficult situation. Once she found out that he did not have the answer, she knew she had him over a barrel. The House Appropriations Committee receives about 35,000 earmark spending requests per year.

This church, by Giuliano da Sangallo (1485-1491), is a Greek cross, with barrel vaults over the arms, and a dome; it is a fine work, and the decoration of the exterior in marble of different colours (unfinished) is of a noble simplicity. Other examples include a variety of .410 / rifle "survival" guns manufactured in over/under designs. Example sentences with over a barrel … In a precarious position.

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(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. From the state of being sprawled over a barrel either to empty one's lungs or to be flogged As the blade of the poisoned knife closed in on her neck, Diana was over a barrel, at her captor's mercy, because one tiny movement could end her life. 1; noun over a barrel the quantity that such a vessel of some standard size can hold: for most liquids, 31½ U.S. gallons (119 L); for petroleum, 42 U.S. gallons (159 L); for dry materials, 105 U.S. dry quarts (115 L).

In a defensive position. This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. It is now used to refer to anyone in a situation where they have little choice. We will look the meaning of the term over a barrel, some possible places where this idiom originated and some examples of its use in sentences. Register Connect. How to use over a barrel idiom?

This example … over-a-barrel definition: Adjective (not comparable) 1. The good, true, loving wife she appeared to be, being, to use a slang phrase "over a barrel." over a barrel idiom meaning. 7.