Press up against

Press up against

“Press up against.”

This is a hard one. This a phrasal verb that means to apply physical pressure to something, so that it’s in contact with a surface. This typically involves a person or an object making firm contact with another surface for a sustained period of time.

Imagine you’re in a crowded elevator, going up. Four or five people get in with you on the first floor. On the second floor, another two people get in. It’s starting to feel a little crowded in here. Then on the third floor, another handful of people get in. You were one of the first people on, so where are you? You’re in the back. And as more and more people come into the elevator, there’s less and less space for you back there.

So eventually, you’ll find yourself pressed up against the back of the elevator. That means, there’s physical pressure. Your back is not just lightly touching the back wall: you’re pressed up against it. There’s firm contact between your back and the back of the elevator. You’re pressed up against the back of the elevator.

The same thing can happen on a crowded bus or train; during rush hour, you might be pressed up against the walls or the doors.

In the same way, if you go to a crowded concert, you might see fans pressed up against the stage, trying to get as close as possible. If you’re not in the front, you might be pressed up against other people. That means, you’re not gently grazing the other people around you. If you’re pressed up against other people, it’s so crowded, you have no room to move, and there’s firm contact between you and other fans.

Epic fail. Listen to this. I bought sound absorbing panels for my office, to improve the sound quality of these audio lessons. So I bought these 3M hooks that go on the wall, no tools necessary.

You’ve seen them. Here’s how they work. You attach adhesive strips to the hook. Then you press the hook up against the wall, so the adhesive strips stick to the wall. You press the hook up against the wall. You apply firm pressure, so that the hook is in contact with the surface of the wall, and you keep the pressure on for a full minute. Presto! Worked perfectly…until they fell down in the middle of the night.

If you get blood taken, they’ll probably give you a little cotton ball or gauze pad after. “Press this up against your skin,” they might tell you. They want you to put firm, sustained pressure on the gauze pad, so your skin can heal.

Weight-loss drugs come in small, injectable pens. To administer the drug, you press the pen up against your skin until the dose has been administered.

The important thing with “press up against” is that it’s for a sustained period of time. It’s not just for a moment. In that crowded elevator ride, you’re pressed up against the back wall—not just for a moment, but for the rest of the elevator ride. When I attempted to hang my 3M Command hooks, I had to press the hook up against the wall for a full minute. It was sustained pressure for some time.

And if you administer an injection via a pen—whether for weight-loss drugs or for an allergic reaction—you press the pen up against your skin and hold it there until the full dose has been administered.

There’s no time limit to use “press up against,” but the idea is, it’s sustained pressure for some period of time.

See you next time!

That brings us to the end of today’s Plain English. Thanks for sticking with us until the end. This was lesson number 661, so the full lesson content can be found at PlainEnglish.com/661.

Speaking of the full lesson content, we have re-arranged things at PlainEnglish.com and now there’s so much more right on the transcript page. And we have added a quiz to each expression. So take the four-question quiz on the transcript page to make sure you understood “press up against.” And while you’re there, if you’re a Plus+ member, you can write your own examples of “press up against” and I will give you personal feedback.

That’s all at PlainEnglish.com/661. That’s all for today—we’ll be back on Monday with a new topic. See you then.