pull a lever
Activate a switch
To pull a lever is to grip and move a mechanical handle, typically toward oneself or downward, to activate a mechanism.
Voting machines once required pulling a lever to register a choice, so the phrase became synonymous with voting: I pull the lever for whoever supports education.
More broadly, it means to take decisive action or exercise control: Someone in management needs to pull a lever to fix this.
- yankQuick, forceful pull
- voting machinesDevices that tally votes
- voting boothPrivate space for ballots
- secret ballotConfidential electoral choice
- behind the curtainConcealed from audience view
haul · handle · draw · arcade games · slot machines · grip · activation · switch · fulcrum · mechanical advantage · click · decision-making · all or nothing · guillotine · trapdoor · machinery · toggle · control