Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To force into military or naval service.
- v. To force or coerce: "press-ganging a consumer into buying something he doesn't want” ( Feona McEwan).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A detachment under the command of an officer empowered to impress men into the public service, especially the naval service.
- To act as a press-gang.
Wiktionary
- n. A body of men employed to force others into military or naval service.
- v. To force men into military or naval service.
- v. To coerce somebody into doing something that they are reluctant to do.
Examples
“Are we really going to press-gang (intentional pun) our media into tasting in isolation and only when they have paid for the opportunity themselves?”
The state of Australian wine – and Landmark Australia | Dr Vino's wine blog
“Used as press-gang hounds by the Terran Exploitations Company.”
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror: Shadow Over Mars - Leigh Brackett
“Not to be deterred, Andrew managed to press-gang a substitute.”
“From what I understand, much motivation for Taliban recruits besides the press-gang, is the fact all those Western troops are kicking around.”
“Recently Caco tried to press-gang 30 leading members of the military police, setting off a street battle between branches of the Bosnian armed forces that left one dead and several wounded.”
““One crew leaves, they have to press-gang another.””
“He would have started a press-gang, but there was no superfluity of men in that township: nothing but boys and grandfathers.”
“He will never betray us; he is wonderfully grateful; and after that battle with the press-gang, when he knocked down the officer and broke his arm, he will keep pretty clear of the Union-jack.”
“Of course, he is the butt of “utter and acknowledged ignorance”, and of “the most gross and foolish statements”, and of “the unjust and dishonest”, and of “the press-gang”, and of crowds of other alien and combative adjectives, participles, and substantives.”
“And then as they rambled on with their tales of seafaring and the press-gang and the Marquis of”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘press-gang’.
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Forgotten English 1
jacal, mastaba, lucarne, quoin, triglyph, gargarice, nimgimmer, phrenologize, fleam, eaglestone, toad eater, king's evil and 156 more...
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Whaleworthy & Piratical Words
A list of favorite nautical words to be sprinkled liberally throughout speech for piratical or Melvillian effect.
batten down, back and fill, beamy, baulking, beckets, bilge, bold shore, boomjumper, breaker, larboard, abaft, ash breeze and 156 more...
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conglomeration
wherewithal, wan, zoonotic, zoonosis, nebulous, nefarious, nascent, quiescent, quell, undercroft, unwitting, unutterable and 658 more...
Tweets
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