under the gun

I. phrasal or under the guns

1. : under the surveillance of an armed guard

2. : called upon in a game of poker to bet or drop when several players not yet heard from may raise — used of the first and second players in turn after the deal

II. phrasal

: under pressure

I was always under the gun to perform — Don Sutton

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under the gun mainly american phrase

under a lot of pressure and not certain that you will succeed

I would encourage you all to support the staff who are under the gun here.

Thesaurus: in a difficult situation_synonym

Main entry: gun

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informal under great pressure

manufacturers are under the gun to offer alternatives

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under the gun

chiefly US : in a situation in which you are getting a lot of criticism or pressure or in which you have only a short amount of time to do something

We were under the gun to finish the project on time.

Those responsible for the error suddenly found themselves under the gun.

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Main Entry: ↑gun

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under the ˈgun idiom

(NAmE, informal) experiencing a lot of pressure

•

I'm really under the gun today.

Main entry: ↑gun_idiom