put through the wringer

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put through the wringer (third-person singular simple present puts through the wringer, present participle putting through the wringer, simple past and past participle put through the wringer)

  1. (idiomatic) To interrogate or scrutinize closely; to subject to some trial or ordeal.
    They really put each candidate through the wringer before choosing one to hire.
    • 2023 September 16, Jason Horowitz, “How Do We Feel About Global Warming? It’s Called Eco-Anxiety.”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      Psychiatrists say that for many people who have been put through the wringer over the past decade, the climate extremes are one crisis too many.

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