Meaning
Helpless, trapped, or subject to another person's control. Current informal idiom Regional use: United States; now widespread.
Origin
An Americanism attested figuratively in Washington State newspapers by 1890. The likeliest image is a person held over a barrel for punishment, a literal practice found in earlier writing, but the precise metaphor cannot be proved. The often-repeated naval-flogging story lacks supporting evidence, and resuscitating a drowning victim over a barrel does not fit the powerlessness sense as closely.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- get someone over a barrel
- have someone over a barrel
- hold someone over a barrel
Usage Examples
- With the only spare key in his pocket, the caretaker had us over a barrel.
- The sudden deadline put the small supplier over a barrel during negotiations.