pound the table
Forceful verbal emphasis
Pound the table is to argue forcefully through passion or volume rather than evidence.
From the legal adage: "If you have the facts, pound the facts; if you have the law, pound the law; if you have neither, pound the table." The phrase suggests compensating for weak substance with theatrical emphasis: When his data fell apart, he just started pounding the table.
- hand gesturesExpressive motions of fingers
- assertivenessConfident self-expression quality
- make a pointConvey something deliberately
- emotional appealPersuasion targeting feelings
- passionIntense emotional drive
fired up · slamming · rhetoric · conviction · frustration · righteous anger · urgency · lawyering · trial lawyer · determination · ethos · histrionics · advocacy · indignation · confrontation · speechmaking · debate · heated debate
pound the tablespeak softly
Vocalize at low volume
whisper · understate · soft-pedal · murmur · keep one's cool
pound the tableaccommodate
Provide for or adjust
defer · listen · collaborate · back down · meet halfway
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