英和和英

前置詞句

on the hook

1. (literally) Of an animal, slaughtered for food.

   Antonym: on the hoof

2. (informal, idiomatic) In debt; obligated to pay or provide; liable; responsible or blamed.

   Antonym: off the hook

   • 1991 October 27, Barbara Presley Noble, “Making a Difference: Lloyd's 'Indentured Servant'”, in New York Times, retrieved 15 June 2011:

     For now, at least, Mr. Wedell, who is a vice president at the Robinson-Humphrey Company, a subsidiary of Shearson Lehman, is still on the hook for unsettled claims.

   • 2008 September 29, “Washington to Wall Street: Drop Dead”, in Newsweek, retrieved 15 June 2011:

     Yes, incumbents of both parties—especially those incumbents facing tough re-election campaigns—don't want to be on the hook for this vote.

   • 2010 April 15, Joseph R. Szczesny, “GM's Pension: A Ticking Time Bomb for Taxpayers?”, in Time:

     Could taxpayers really be on the hook for UAW pensions? Yes.

   • 2017 May 18, Mickey Rapkin, “The Oral History of Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’: Controversies, Doubts & ‘Belly Pains’ In the Studio”, in billboard.com‎:

     Cameron was getting pressure from the studio to try and have something that would be an additional powerful marketing tool. And because the studio was on the hook for this picture, for what they’d spent they were looking for every marketing opportunity that they could get.

使用する際の注意点

• The idiomatic sense is often followed by the preposition for.

参照

• “on the hook”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.