choke down

choke down (third-person singular simple present chokes down, present participle choking down, simple past choked down, past participle choke down)

1. (transitive) to swallow with difficulty
   • 2003, Jan Karon, In This Mountain, Penguin, →ISBN, page 164:

     “With three marriages an' a drinkin' problem, I've had all the go-between I can choke down,” said Buck.

   • 2011, Carol K. Carr, India Black and the Widow of Windsor, Penguin, →ISBN, page 161:

     The Queen had managed to choke down enough luncheon for a family of four before submitting to her attendants' demands that she retire to her room and rest.

   • 2011, Lucy Kevin, Seattle Girl, Oak Press, LLC, →ISBN, page 73:

     Just remember, if you mess up on a drink, give them your prettiest smile, and they'll happily choke down whatever you brought them.

   • 2012, Nora Roberts, The Last Boyfriend, Penguin, →ISBN, page 274:

     I choked it down the way I used to choke down the brussels sprouts my mother insisted were good for me.

   • 2013, Patricia Robertson, The Fire Reapers, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 44:

     When she'd first arrived in Ashgārd, the idea of eating food grown in dirty soil had been so horrible she'd barely been able to choke down what was on her plate.

   • 2013, Dot Hutchison, A Wounded Name, Carolrhoda Lab ™, →ISBN, page 2:

     I can choke down the pills, but I couldn't deal with the toast or the eggs, only the coffee, heavily sugared and creamed, that nonetheless burned a trail to my stomach.

   • 2014, Karen Robards, Hush, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 318:

     She knew she needed to eat so she picked up the burger and took another bite and then a third. Swallowing —it was like trying to choke down mouthfuls of toilet paper— she made a face at him. “Happy now?”

   • 2015, Barbara Warren, Dangerous Inheritance, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 133:

     She woke the next morning feeling groggy, but managed to choke down a few bites of toast and strawberry jelly before Neva arrived.