on the hook AmE informal

He finally put the phone back on the hook and went into the other room.

He had never expected to be put on the hook in the first place.

And now he had her on the hook for the second time.

Right now, though, she wanted to keep him on the hook.

"The government is already on the hook for a lot of the social costs."

I'll just put these on the hooks, like you said, and let myself out.

I put the phone back on the hook and took a deep breath.

William placed the phone back on the hook and went to bed.

She put the phone back on the hook: 'How is that possible?

Local governments are on the hook for between 10 and 25 percent of many programs.

The investor is on the hook in other ways, too.

He slammed the phone down on the hook and turned around.

He put the box back on the hook and grabbed another.

Now she wanted to see how firmly he was on the hook.

When the crab got away he put another on the hook.

"How did the kids react when they saw the person on the hook?"

If they did, I was the one who'd most likely be on the hook in case of a lawsuit.

They kept us on the hook for almost a year."

They are still on the hook for the $600 million."

"He has the republicans on the hook now," an official said.

"It's hard because you can easily get on the hook for an event a week."

He pulled in the line and found a big silver fish caught on the hook.

He did another fish and jammed its head back on the hook.

He glared at the phone after it was back on the hook.

It'll be struggling American workers who are on the hook for this tax.