assuming the position
Taking the stance
Assuming the position means getting into a specific stance, typically one required by authority.
Most commonly it refers to the spread-eagle posture demanded by police during searches or arrests—hands on a wall or vehicle, feet apart: The officer told him to assume the position.
The phrase also appears in sexual contexts, referring to a posture for intercourse.
More broadly, it can mean taking up any expected or assigned stance, physical or figurative.
- prostrationUtter physical or mental depletion
- submissionYielding to another's will
- stanceStanding posture or viewpoint
- genuflectionKnee-bending act of reverence
- taking a kneeLowering oneself in protest
kneel · preparation · getting ready · supplication · acquiescence · yielding · power dynamic · hands up · spread eagle · readiness · crouch · obedience · mounting · acceptance · preparedness · setup · alignment · consecration
assuming the positionresisting arrest
Opposing lawful detention
fleeing · fighting back · struggling · resisting · running
assuming the positionfleeing
Rapid escape from danger
running away · taking flight · bolting · escaping · evading arrest
assuming the positionstanding upright
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