Twist someone's arm

Origin

The phrase "twist someone's arm" vividly conjures the image of actual physical coercion, where a person might literally twist another's arm to force compliance or extract information. While there's no single dramatic event marking its birth, the idiom solidified in common English usage in the early 20th century, emerging from the grim reality of such forceful persuasion. It quickly evolved from its violent literal roots into a metaphor for intense, persistent verbal pressure, softening the physical threat into a more acceptable, yet equally effective, form of influence, capturing the feeling of being pushed to a decision one initially resisted.