have someone over a barrel Definition

barrel¹
noun

1. A large round container with a flat top and bottom and curving out in the middle, usually made of planks of wood held together with metal bands.

Thesaurus: cask, keg, vat, tub, hogshead, firkin.
2. A barrelful.
3. A measure of capacity, especially of industrial oil.
4. The long hollow tube-shaped part of a gun or pen, etc.

Idiom: have someone over a barrel

To be in a position to get whatever one wants from them; to have them in one's power
Example: They've got me over a barrel, - if I don't co-operate I'll lose my job

Idiom: scrape the bottom of the barrel

See under scrape.

Etymology: 14c: from French baril.