to twist someone's arm
10
4.4
- idiom
- /twɪst ˈsʌmˌwʌnz ɑrm/
- Informal
- Did Ken twist Kati Couric's arm to go on national TV and lie?
Examples
-
Look, I'm not gonna twist your arm or... break a finger or anything.
-
You're going to sign it or do I have to twist your arm?
-
Well, you might say that he twisted my arm.
-
Yeah, if you twisted my arm.
-
Lady, you twisted my arm.
-
Well I'm not gonna twist your arm.
-
You don't have to twist my arm.
-
- Yeah, because if you hadn't twisted my arm to go and sign this deal, this never would have happened.
-
Becky finally twisted Tom's arm to read his manuscript.
-
I had to twist my friend's arm to convince him to join the team.
Synonyms
∞
2.7
Make someone believe something is true or agree to do something
514
3.2
To strongly encourage someone to do something
359
2.7
To make someone agree or do something by giving reasons
337
3.9
Ask someone firmly and repeatedly to do something
273
3.7
To get someone to do something by offering a reward or making false promises
240
3.0
Make someone think differently about something
224
4.2
To try to make someone do something
90
3.6
To cause someone to change their opinion or decision
80
6.4
Force someone to do something by threats
58
4.9
To persuade someone to do something by offering something they want
53
4.1
To gently persuade someone by being kind and patient
30
4.1
To gently encourage someone to try something new
30
4.9
Persuade someone to do something
25
6.5
Make someone decide or act sooner than they want
18
7.7
To persuade someone to do something by gentle talk and praise
16
9.1
Force someone to accept an idea they do not want
12
7.5
To force someone to do something by threats or violence
11
7.1
Persuade someone to do what you want
10
5.4
Convince someone to join an activity, often when they do not want to
6
6.7
To persuade someone to do something after repeated effort
5
7.7
Urge someone to do something illegal
4
8.3
Make someone accept ideas or opinions they do not want by pressuring them
4
7.7
To persuade someone who does not want to do something to do it
3
7.5
To put more pressure on someone so they do what you want
3
6.0
To use influence to persuade someone to do something
2
9.5
To get someone to do something by flattering or tricking them
2
3.9
To try to make someone change what they do by making them feel more stress
2
7.9
Talk strongly to someone to try to persuade them
2
4.4
Offer a small reward to make someone do something
1
4.4
To persuade someone to accept your idea or plan
1
4.2
Offer a reward to encourage someone to do something
1
3.9
Encourage someone gently to start doing something
1
9.9
To gently persuade someone by praise or charm
Antonyms
How Persuasive
337
3.9
- Informal
10
4.4
359
2.7
877
2.3
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal image of ‘twisting’ someone’s ‘arm’ evokes physical coercion, so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer a meaning related to forcing or pressuring someone. However, the phrase is a metaphorical extension rather than a strictly compositional combination, so understanding requires mapping the physical action to social pressure (though many languages use a similar construction), making it only partially predictable.
Etymology
Twist someone's arm likely comes from the image of someone literally twisting another person's arm to make them do something. That idea of putting real pressure on someone became a way to talk about strong persuasion, so today it means 'to persuade someone'.