Over a Barrel
My landlord really has me over a barrel. It is time to sign another lease, a contract, for the next year. Rent has been going up around my city, so it wasn’t a huge shock that my landlord asked for more money. But the amount she asked for was a bit shocking.
Over a Barrel
Over a barrel describes a situation where someone is helpless. They are under the control of another person. The phrase is used primarily used to talk about unfair situations, like my story with the landlord. The person who has you over a barrel is usually forcing you to do something that you don’t want to do. The person is taking advantage of your situation.
Example: I want to have dinner with you, but my boss is forcing me to work late. He really has me over a barrel!
The origin of over a barrel is not certain, but there are two main ideas. The first is about saving a drowning person and the second is about punishment.
A long time ago, people would save drowning people by putting them over a barrel. The person was placed face down and rocked back and forth until the water drained from their lungs. The idea behind this origin is that the person who is drowning is helpless. Their life is in the hands of the people rocking them back and forth over a barrel. It sounds nice, but I think the second origin story is more likely.
Personally, I find it more believable that over a barrel relates to punishment. There is a long history of people who are put over a barrel with their hands and feet tied down. They are completely helpless. Their punishers could whip, flog, or do anything they want to them. Indeed, over a barrel is first recorded in relation to someone being branded in a fraternity. This means that the person was in college and a red-hot iron was pushed into their skin. There are also many other early examples of the phrase being used in relation to punishment.
See Also: Let the Cat Out of the Bag
My Landlord
For my Western audience, there are two forms of rent in Korea. I have a wolse contract. I have been living in this apartment for three years and the deposit was 10,000,000 won (about 10,000CAD) when I signed the first contract. This year my landlord asked for an additional 10,000,000 won. Considering that my contract renews in two weeks, this was a shock. There was no warning.
My lovely coworkers helped me to negotiate the deposit down to 18,000,0000 won total. Luckily, I have been able to save some money, so it is not an issue. I even got my monthly rental fee reduced by 30,000 won. The last-minute demand for more money put me in a bad situation. It is not enough time to find another house before the end of my contract. Plus, I love my apartment. Also, I have so much stuff that paying a company to move it would not only be a hassle, but also cost a lot. Moving was not really an option, so it was good that we could negotiate the deposit fee. Even though it might sound like a bad situation, I am happy with my apartment. Overall, the rent is pretty cheap for how big it is and all my stuff is here. Looks like I will be staying here for at least one more year!
Wolse: After placing a deposit at the start of the contract, the tenant pays a monthly fee along with utility bills. The deposit for a wolse contract is lower than a jeonse contract, but higher than in most countries. 10,000,000 KRW is a normal starting price. The more you pay in a deposit, the less you pay monthly.
Jeonse: Instead of paying a monthly rental fee, the tenant makes a large deposit. It can cost almost as much as buying the apartment. The deposit is paid back in full at the end of the contract. However, the landlord will use that money to make investments during that time.
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Reference:
http://english.seoul.go.kr/service/living/housing/1-wolse-jeonse/
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/over-a-barrel.html
https://grammarist.com/idiom/over-a-barrel/
https://wordhistories.net/2019/05/05/over-barrel/
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/have+you+over+a+barrel