force-someones-hand
Chunk: force someone's hand
Meaning & Usage
To force someone's hand means to compel them to take an action—often earlier than they planned, or an action they did not want to take at all. The pressure usually comes from outside circumstances, competitors, or unexpected events.
🧲 Common Collocates
- Common Targets: force my hand, forced their hand, force the government's hand.
- Contexts (Business/Politics): circumstances forced our hand, the competitor forced his hand.
💬 Contextual Examples
- We wanted to wait until next month to announce the merger, but the press leak forced our hand.
- The union's decision to strike completely forced the management's hand.
- I didn't want to sell the house, but the sudden medical bills forced my hand.
🎴 Interactive Web Practice
Practice 1: We had to release the software early because our rival's launch forced our ______.
Answer:
hand Practice 2: The public outrage finally ______ the mayor's hand, and he resigned.
Answer:
forced Practice 3: I was hoping to negotiate longer, but their final ultimatum forced my ______.
Answer:
hand 🔗 Knowledge Base Connections
- 🔑 Parent Keyword: force
- ⚖️ Synonym Chunk: leave-no-choice