Twist Someone's Arm

Twist Someone’s Arm

Welcome to English in a Minute.

To twist something means to bend or turn it into a shape that is not normal or natural.

This just sounds painful.

What happened to you? You look really tired.

Yeah, I was out late at the Moldy Earlobes concert.

I thought you said you weren’t going because of your big presentation this morning.

Correct. But our dear friend Ashley twisted my arm.

She even said she’d buy me pizza before the show.

Twisting someone’s arm in the sport of wrestling is a way to gain control.

In a way, that is what this expression means.

To twist someone’s arm means to force someone to do something.

But it was pretty easy to get Jonathan to go the show — it took only one word: pizza.

And that’s English in a Minute!