Idiom
force someone's hand
Meaning
Bring about a situation which necessitates an agent to act, often causing a plan to be executed prematurely.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The deadline forced my hand, so I finished the report early.”
“The sudden rain forces his hand to cancel the outdoor party.”
“A better job offer forces her hand to quit today.”
“When the rival company lowered their prices, it forced our hand to offer a discount to keep our customers.”
“The landlord's refusal to fix the heating forced the tenant's hand, so she finally decided to move out and find a new apartment.”
“When the other candidate dropped out of the race, it forced the mayor's hand to choose a replacement much sooner than expected.”
“The sudden leak of confidential information forced the director's hand, compelling him to announce the merger before the legal team had finalized the details.”
Examples
simple
“The deadline forced my hand, so I finished the report early.”
“The sudden rain forces his hand to cancel the outdoor party.”
“A better job offer forces her hand to quit today.”
contextual
“When the rival company lowered their prices, it forced our hand to offer a discount to keep our customers.”
“The landlord's refusal to fix the heating forced the tenant's hand, so she finally decided to move out and find a new apartment.”
“When the other candidate dropped out of the race, it forced the mayor's hand to choose a replacement much sooner than expected.”
complex
“The sudden leak of confidential information forced the director's hand, compelling him to announce the merger before the legal team had finalized the details.”
Origin
The expression is a metaphorical reference to card games, derived from the necessity of playing a card that one would prefer to keep hidden. It describes the tactical requirement of being compelled to act before one is entirely ready to do so.
Key words
Related idioms
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