in the tank

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Prepositional phrase

in the tank

1. (idiomatic, US, politics, often followed by for or with) Supportive, approving, favorably disposed.
   • 2008 May 5, Howard Kurtz, “Media Notes: Obama's Chilly Spring”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2 November 2016:

     [J]ournalists were stung by a pair of "Saturday Night Live" skits that portrayed them as in the tank for Obama.

   • 2009 February 11, “Craig Rubin: L.A. mayoral candidate”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2 November 2016:

     "We are working hard to get the word out and meet the people, but in some ways it seems as if the press is in the tank for Villaraigosa."

   • 2016 February 12, Paul Krugman, “On Economic Stupidity”, in New York Times, retrieved 2 November 2016:

     Leading the charge of the utterly crazy is, you won’t be surprised to hear, Donald Trump, who has accused the Fed of being in the tank for Democrats.

2. (idiomatic, informal) In a state of decline, failure, or prolonged poor performance.
3. (idiomatic) In reserve; available for future use.
   • 2018 September 27, Lance Pugmire, “Rory MacDonald is one tough competitor”, in Los Angeles Times‎^[1]:

     “When you lose a fight knowing you had more in the tank or that you should’ve done something different, those regrets haunt you,” MacDonald said. “You learn from that, so it never happens again. It makes you better.”

   • 2023 January 19, Christina Caron, “Should You Quit Your Job?”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     “I’m leaving, because with such a privileged role comes responsibility — the responsibility to know when you are the right person to lead and also when you are not,” said Ms. Ardern […] . “I know what this job takes. And I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”

4. (poker, slang) Contemplating a decision for a long time.

   He went in the tank after his opponent put him all in.

Usage notes

• Frequently used in descriptions of reporters or media organizations as biased in favor of a particular politician or political party.

Related terms

• go in the tank

Further reading

• “in the tank”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “in the tank”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.