in the barrel
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.17 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in, barrel.
Example Sentences
- "It’s Your Turn In The Barrel: accident investigation duty"
- "Reluctantly, Armstrong began spending more and more “time in the barrel,” as the astronauts called the frequent public appearances that were considered an important part of the job, because it was believed by NASA brass the only way to keep Congress passing billion-dollar budgets was to keep the public firmly in their corner."
- "Staffers rotated on and off the committee and, as it happened, this month I was in the barrel along with three others."
- "Connor took aim out the window saying "We voted him guilty, Hailey. We helped put him in the barrel and we're the only ones who can stop it. We have to.”"
- "Practically everybody who worked for the director, including his closest friends, spent time “in the barrel.” “We'd all get our turn,” Andy Devine said. Actors tolerated Ford's abuse because they loved him, understood him, or knew he could draw a better performance from them than could any other director in Hollywood."
Etymology
Attested 1950s. Presumably from a bawdy military joke, featuring a barrel with a glory hole, whose punchline is “It’s your turn in the barrel.” The joke has many variants and embellishments, but the kernel is: a new sailor is being given a tour of the boat, and is shown a barrel with a glory hole, which they are able to use any time, except Tuesdays. When he asks why not Tuesdays, he is told: “Because it’s your turn in the barrel.” Other hypotheses is that it is derived from like shooting fish in a barrel, or that it referred to a form of punishment in which the malefactor was confined within a barrel.