press gang

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press gang

also press·gang (prĕs′găng′)
n.
A company of men under an officer detailed to force men into military or naval service.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

press gang

n
(Historical Terms) (formerly) a detachment of men used to press civilians for service in the navy or army
vb (tr)
1. (Historical Terms) to force (a person) to join the navy or army by a press gang
2. to induce (a person) to perform a duty by forceful persuasion: his friends press-ganged him into joining the committee.
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.press gang - a detachment empowered to force civilians to serve in the army or navy
detachment - a small unit of troops of special composition
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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Her defence was (I have the trial in my pocket), "that she had lived in credit, and wanted for nothing, till a press-gang came and stole her husband from her; but since then, she had no bed to lie on; nothing to give her children to eat; and they were almost naked; and perhaps she might have done something wrong, for she hardly knew what she did." The parish officers testified the truth of this story; but it seems, there had been a good deal of shop-lifting about Ludgate; an example was thought necessary; and this woman was hanged for the comfort and satisfaction of shopkeepers in Ludgate Street.
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When injury ends her career, her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts) press-gangs his niece into the top-secret Sparrow project, which moulds attractive recruits to strike at the heart of Western governments.
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Her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), deputy director of the Russian Intelligence Service, press-gangs her into the top-secret Sparrow project, which sees her sent to dupe CIA operative Nathaniel Nash (Joel Edgerton).
dvd; girls night in BY AMANDA KEENAN chant-timelessness Get your mates round for an evening of film, music or fun

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