force (one's) hand

To push one to do something that one is not inclined to do otherwise. (The phrase alludes to a hand of playing cards.) Dave still hasn't decided where he wants to go to dinner, so I'm going to force his hand—I need to make reservations as soon as possible! I was hoping to play golf today, but the storm forced my hand, so I stayed home instead. The president is trying to force Congress's hand by threatening a veto.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Marly	MAHR-lee	English (Rare)
Debdas	-	Bengali
Aineias	-	Greek Mythology
Higini	ee-ZHEE-nee	Catalan
Iskandar	-	Arabic, Indonesian, Malay
Katell	-	Breton