Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
hang over someone's head en · VERB
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To threaten (someone); to act as a constant preoccupation for (someone).
Lord Justice Roskill delivered the decision of the three justices, upholding the fines against the paper and editor Lemon. The justices also granted court costs to anti-gay crusader Mary Whitehouse, the person who brought the suit against the paper. A prison sentence hanging over Lemon's head was dismissed.
1978 April 15, “London's Gay News Loses Blasphemy Appeal”, in Gay Community News, page 3:So Congress enacted a statute, the net effect of which is to hinge the freedom to speak on the speaker’s willingness to run the gauntlet of post hoc value assessments by prosecutors and juries with a five year felony sentence hanging over his head.
2010, Patricia A. Millett et al., United States v. Stevens, Respondent's brief, page 22:
Forms