until the pips squeak

English dictionary entry

Meanings

phrase
  1. Until the maximum amount has been extracted.

Word forms

until the pips squeak

Etymology

Originally coined by the First Lord of the Admiralty and Unionist election candidate Eric Geddes in an election promise to "squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak", made during a speech in Cambridge on 10 December 1918 and reported the next day by the Cambridge Daily News.

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