on the hook
26
7.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
responsable (de)
- The company is on the hook for any damages caused by their product.
So they are still on the hook if the new buyer stops paying.
- So they are still on the hook if the new buyer stops paying.
- I thought you were free, but now I'm on the hook for all you've given me.
- Plus, you know, if things go bad, you're the one on the hook.
- And they'll say to you that, oh, it doesn't cost anything, but taxpayers are on the hook.
- There's a whole bunch of obligations that go with being a professional that put you on the hook, and for years I've had.
Examples
-
So they are still on the hook if the new buyer stops paying.
-
Their failure to pay down debt leaves you on the hook with the creditors.
Blog text (5) -
What are you on the hook for, 25, 50?
-
I think too many of us are on the hook.
-
The people who use a road should be on the hook for funding that road.
Blog text (7) -
Now look, we are on the hook for big money here, SO you better get over there darn fast.
-
I'm calling it a favor and I know it means I'm on the hook for a bigger favor down the road.
-
Heck, the taxpayers are on the hook to pay for it all now anyway.
Blog text (3) -
Is the state really liable or on the hook for one penny?
Blog text (21) -
You know, they're on the hook for a pretty big claim here.
Synonyms
89
5.5
Legally responsible to pay for damage or loss
Having work or problems that you must deal with
Antonyms
How Responsible
- Specialized
89
5.5
251
4.6
953
3.0
- Informal
26
7.7
79
3.5
5
4.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase builds on the literal image of something being 'on' a hook (caught, stuck, or suspended), so a learner might infer a sense of being trapped or bound. However, mapping that image specifically to legal/financial responsibility or obligation ('must do or pay something') is a metaphorical leap that a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words is unlikely to make reliably.
Etymology
On the hook comes from the image of something caught on a hook, like a fish that cannot escape and is held in place. So, if you are on the hook, you are stuck with a duty or bill and must do or pay something — in other words, you are 'responsible'.