(redirected from drive to the wall)
To put one in a position or situation where their options are limited. Every night after school is a battle—I basically have to drive the kids to the wall to get them to do their homework. Of course that team won the big game when faced with missing the playoffs—they perform best in situations that drive them to the
wall. See also: drive, to, wall Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.drive (one) to the wall
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informal
: to make (someone) irritated, angry, or crazy
Your constant tapping is driving me up the wall!
Dictionary Entries Near drive (someone) up a/the wall
Cite this Entry
“Drive (someone) up a/the wall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, //www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drive%20%28someone%29%20up%20a%2Fthe%20wall. Accessed 15 Nov. 2022.
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
Definition 1: To make someone very irritated or angry.
Definition 2: A sexual invitation to inform ones partner that they are crazy for them. That they want to feel crazy for them.
Other definitions : partner , love , sex , crazy , angry , feel , irritated , invitation , one
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Definition 1: To make someone very irritated or angry.
Definition 2: A sexual invitation to inform ones partner that they are crazy for them. That they want to feel crazy for them.
Other definitions : partner , love , sex , crazy , angry , feel , irritated , invitation , one
Get the Drive me up the wall mug.
Advertise here for $5/day
What Is the Origin of the Saying "Drive Someone up the Wall"?
The term "drive someone up the wall" means to annoy somebody a lot.
- Keep the noise down! You're driving me up the wall.
- That house alarm is driving me up the wall!
- I can't thread this needle. It is driving me up the wall.
- You have been driving me up the wall all morning. Give me a minute's peace.
In this idiom, the word "wall" is a metaphor for a barrier preventing an escape from an annoyance. The annoyance is so bad, it drives the person to claw their way up the wall to get away.
The notion of a metaphorical wall preventing an escape from a situation dates back to at least the 16th century. The following quotation is from King Henry VII's Chancellor of England Sir Thomas More:
- "I am in this matter euen at the harde walle, and se not how to go further.
The full saying "drive [someone] up the wall" has been used since the early 20th century, but it has only been in common usage since the 1960s (evidence).
Competing Theory
This saying comes from the image of an addict deprived of drugs literally trying to climb the wall of their cell in desperation. Supporters of this theory note that the term came to prominence in the 1960s, when drug use was rife.
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