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Phrase(s): hammer (away) at someone
Fig. to interrogate someone; to ask questions endlessly of someone. • The cops kept hammering away at the suspect until he told them everything they wanted to know. • They hammered at him for hours., Phrase(s): hammer (away) at something
1. Lit. to continue to do a task that requires much hammering. • The roofers are hammering away at the job, trying to finish before night. 2. Lit. to pound at or on something, such as a door. • Who is hammering away at the door? • The police are hammering at the door. 3. Fig. to dwell overly long on a point or a question. • Stop hammering away at the same thing over and over. • The agents asked question after question. They would not stop hammering at the issue.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs