grill
GRIL
/ɡrɪl/
To subject someone to intense, relentless, and uncomfortable questioning.
An informal term that evokes the heat and pressure of cooking; it implies making the person being questioned feel hot, sweaty, and trapped.
The story behind the word. The literal meaning of cooking food on a metal gridiron dates back centuries. The metaphorical use of 'grilling' a person emerged in American slang in the early 20th century, comparing the intense heat and pressure of a police interrogation room to being cooked over an open fire.
Word relationships
- interrogate: Interrogate is formal and official, whereas grill is informal and focuses on the emotional heat and pressure of the questioning.
- cross-examine: Cross-examine is a specific legal process, while grill can happen anywhere, from a kitchen to a press room.
- coddle: To treat with extreme care and avoid asking difficult questions.
- soothe: To calm someone down rather than put them under pressure.
Commonly confused with
- roast: To roast someone is to humorously mock or tease them, while to grill someone is to question them intensely.
Word family
- grilling (noun): A period of fierce, intense questioning.
Collocations
- grill a suspect
- get grilled by
- grill relentlessly
Example sentences
- "My parents began to grill me the moment I walked through the front door after curfew." A worried parent questioning a teenager who came home late.
- "The journalists continued to grill the prime minister on the details of the new tax policy." A political interview where the host is relentless.
Memory hook
Picture putting a suspect on a hot backyard barbecue grill until they sweat out the truth. Sweating under the heat of a barbecue.
When not to use
Avoid in formal legal documents or academic writing; use 'interrogate' or 'examine' instead.
Fun facts
- The term 'third degree' (meaning intense interrogation) is closely related in spirit to 'grilling', both evoking physical discomfort and heat.
Related words
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