Under the hammer

Posted by R. Berg on January 07, 2007

In Reply to: Under the hammer posted by Bob on January 06, 2007

: : thanks for your your previous message I got another word that the cricket commentators use quite frequently which is "have somebody under the hammer" in cricket. I am confuse over the use of this word. Could you help me out in making connections in this question. look forward to your reply.thanks

: A hammer is a large and heavy tool. A striking instrument that makes an impact on whatever it hits. If you are "under the hammer," you are about to be struck and damaged. It is a METAPHOR for facing danger, a lot like looking down the barrel, or being on the mat..

It seems that cricket commentators use many imaginative ways of saying "That team is in trouble." They are probably trying to avoid saying "That team is in trouble" in every paragraph, because the repetition would bore their audience. So instead they talk about barrels and hammers and mats. ~rb