Idiom
push it
Meaning
To make an extraordinary or risky effort; to behave in a way which tests the limits; to take chances; to expect too much.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't push it, or you will be late for work.”
“You are already driving too fast, so do not push it.”
“She is in a bad mood, so do not push it.”
“He was already tired, but he decided to push it and finish the project before midnight.”
“I will let you borrow my car today, but do not push it by asking to keep the keys all weekend.”
“The doctor said your leg is healing well, but you should not push it by running a marathon yet.”
“My boss gave me a small bonus, and I knew I would be pushing it if I asked for a raise too.”
“The hotel staff allowed us to check in two hours early, but we felt we were pushing it when we asked for a free room upgrade as well.”
“Although the mountain climber knew the storm was approaching, he chose to push it, hoping to reach the summit before the weather turned dangerous.”
Examples
simple
“Don't push it, or you will be late for work.”
“You are already driving too fast, so do not push it.”
“She is in a bad mood, so do not push it.”
contextual
“He was already tired, but he decided to push it and finish the project before midnight.”
“I will let you borrow my car today, but do not push it by asking to keep the keys all weekend.”
“The doctor said your leg is healing well, but you should not push it by running a marathon yet.”
“My boss gave me a small bonus, and I knew I would be pushing it if I asked for a raise too.”
“The hotel staff allowed us to check in two hours early, but we felt we were pushing it when we asked for a free room upgrade as well.”
complex
“Although the mountain climber knew the storm was approaching, he chose to push it, hoping to reach the summit before the weather turned dangerous.”
Origin
The slang sense referring to sexual intercourse was inspired by Salt-N-Pepa and their 1980s song "Push It". While the lyrics are ostensibly concerned with dancing, they were recorded to clearly imply sexual activity.
Key words
Related idioms
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