turn the screw

present singular third person turns the screw · participle present turning the screw · participle past turned the screw · past turned the screw · alternative turn the screws

1. idiomaticTo increase the pressure of a situation.

   1 more example

   Arsenal's dominance was reflected in a flurry of goals before half-time – three in six minutes: first, Podolski turned the screw with a peach of a free-kick; then Gervinho accelerated on to Mikel Arteta's beautifully crafted pass and beat Davis at his near post with conviction; and finally Southampton's defence unspooled completely when Gervinho broke to release Gibbs, whose return ball cannoned off Nathaniel Clyne for Southampton's second own goal of a sobering afternoon.

   2012 September 15, Amy Lawrence, “Arsenal's Gervinho enjoys the joy of six against lowly Southampton”, in the Guardian