the.com/full court press
Defense that chases the ball everywhere, hoping panic looks like a turnover.
means An all-out, relentless effort that applies pressure from every direction at once, leaving no room to breathe or regroup.
from Straight from basketball, where it names a defense that harasses the ball-handler across the entire court rather than retreating to the defensive half. The phrase jumped into general English — politics, business, journalism — by the mid-20th century as a vivid stand-in for 'we're coming at this with everything, everywhere, all at once.'
- origin
- basketball tactic pressuring the entire court, not just half
- metaphor use
- now means all-out effort in business or politics
- risk
- leaves defense thin if the press gets broken
- famous users
- Rick Pitino built entire careers on it