puts through the wringer
Tests to extremes
To put someone through the wringer is to subject them to an exhausting or punishing ordeal.
The image comes from old washing machines with hand-cranked rollers that squeezed water from clothes—flattening and wringing out everything that passed between them.
The divorce really put her through the wringer.
That interview process puts candidates through the wringer.
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- exhaustionState of utter depletion
- run raggedExhaust through excessive demands
- trialJudicial examination of claims
- put to the testEvaluated under pressure
struggle · interrogation · anxiety · fatigue · examination · overwork · hardship · tribulation · scrutiny · despair · emotional toll · burnout · ordeal · wrung out · evaluation · grilling · stress test · frustration
emotional/physical strain
puts through the wringersoothes
Gently relieves distress
comforts · refreshes · lightens the load · takes care of · nurtures