under the pump
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.26 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
Under pressure to perform, e.g. at work or in a sports contest.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage
prep_phrase
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see under, pump.
Example Sentences
- "c. 1970s, Doug Walters, quoted in 2008, Ashley Mallett, One of a Kind: The Doug Walters Story, 2010, ReadHowYouWant, page 219, I think all the Australian batsmen who came back from South Africa felt a bit under the pump. We simply had to perform or not stay in the side."
- "Nick was under the pump. He was underdone, and the selectors wanted to replace him with James Stewart."
- "The laws of the state relative to the intermarriage of the whites with the coloured population, are also referred to. A case of this kind took place at New York when I was there; and as soon as the ceremony was over, the husband, I believe it was, but either the husband or the wife, was seized by the mob and put under the pump for half an hour."
- "1863, “Mrs. Lovechild”, The Truant, in The Christmas Tree and Other Stories for the Young, page 48, Now the punishment for playing truant was to have the truant′s head put under the pump, and pumped upon."
- "1867, New Zealand Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, Volume 1, Part 1: 9 July - 9 August 1867, page 106, The unfortunate individual was of course immediately taken, put under the pump, and soundly pumped upon. This was the sort of conduct adopted by the honorable member for the gold fields and his friends."
- "[…]claim that when he was at Oxford ‘Socialists were put under the pump’."
Etymology
Unclear. As an idiom, identified only in Australian and New Zealand English. * Originally a sailing term for when the ship is taking in water and the ship is literally being bailed out to stay afloat. In the days of yore, the crew had to work 24 hours a day pumping out the ship until the ship reaches safe harbour for repairs. * Also possibly as a punishment. * Also suggested has been an origin in the construction industry: Workers can be quite literally under the pump if a concrete pour is occurring and the steel reinforcing and form-work is still being finished. The concrete pump would be reaching out above the workers, who would be completing their duties at a frantic pace. Once the concrete has been delivered, the ‘pour′ must occur as soon as possible, or it may begin to set. Hence, being under the pump describes the situation of working at feverish pace to meet a specific deadline.