press-gang
Coerce into service
A press-gang was a group authorized to force men into naval or military service, particularly in 18th-century Britain.
The practice, called impressment, typically targeted sailors and men in port towns.
As a verb, to press-gang someone is to coerce them into service or, more broadly, into any unwanted task: I got press-ganged into helping with the move.
Seize for one's purposes
- dragoonCavalryman or browbeat
- rope inEntice into involvement
- railroadPermanent track for trains
- steamrollOverpower by sheer force
browbeat · arm-twist · shanghai · commandeer · muscle · draft · conscript · compel
UK naval military branch
- Age of SailEra of wind-propelled ships
- 18th-centuryThe seventeen hundreds
- Napoleonic WarsBonaparte's military campaigns
- British EmpireVast colonial domain
crimps · naval recruitment · merchant sailors · War of 1812 · maritime law · harbors · taverns · waterfront
Strength or compulsion
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- duressCoercion through threats
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- coerceObtain by intimidation
strong-arm · conscript · dragoon · compel · constrain · bully · threaten · abduct
Maritime vessel crew members
- seamenNaval enlisted personnel
- able-bodiedPhysically fit, healthy
- landsmenPeople unversed in seamanship
- crewWorking team aboard
hands · ratings · boatswain · midshipman · gunner · powder monkey · forecastle · quarterdeck
Preliminary version of text
- enlistmentVoluntary entry into service
- military serviceDuty in armed forces
- levyCompulsory government charge
- call-upOrder to serve
induction · compulsory service · national service · mobilization · recruitment · selective service · deferment · exemption
coopt
Seize for one's purposes
steamroll · browbeat · arm-twist · shanghai · commandeer · muscle · draft · conscript · compel · strong-arm tactics
Royal Navy
UK naval military branch
- Age of SailEra of wind-propelled ships
- 18th-centuryThe seventeen hundreds
- Napoleonic WarsBonaparte's military campaigns
British Empire · crimps · naval recruitment · merchant sailors · War of 1812 · maritime law · harbors · taverns · waterfront · dockside
force
Strength or compulsion
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- duressCoercion through threats
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
coerce · strong-arm · conscript · dragoon · compel · constrain · bully · threaten · abduct · seize
sailors
Maritime vessel crew members
- seamenNaval enlisted personnel
- able-bodiedPhysically fit, healthy
- landsmenPeople unversed in seamanship
crew · hands · ratings · boatswain · midshipman · gunner · powder monkey · forecastle · quarterdeck · mainmast
draft
Preliminary version of text
- enlistmentVoluntary entry into service
- military serviceDuty in armed forces
- levyCompulsory government charge
call-up · induction · compulsory service · national service · mobilization · recruitment · selective service · deferment · exemption · registrant
press-gangvolunteer
Unpaid willing participant
voluntary enlistment · sign up · enlist · opt in · volunteer army
press, gang, pressed, pressing, presses, presser, pressure, compress, depress