A British gentleman in the early part of the twentieth century was quoted as saying that England should “squeeze [name of another country] till the pips squeak.”
Would you please tell me what in the world that means?
THANK YOU
It means squeeze very hard until it is painful. The original quote was apparently “We shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak” – “pips” being the seeds indside a lemon or similar fruit, and “squeak” meaning cry out in discomfort. The metaphor should hopefully be obvious.
There is also a word “pipsqueak”, but I do not exactly know the relationship, if any, between the two.
Thank you very much, Dozy.