give someone a push—
1. shove a person:
- Just at the edge of the well, he gave him a push and threw him into it.
2. said of an act of pushing smb.’s car:
- Our car was stuck and they gave us a push.
3. (coll.) promote smb.’s advancement; assist a person:
- I was including his business on my newsletters just to give him a push.
4. (sl.) dismiss a person from employment:
- I just recall a few months ago when it looked like they were going to give him a push.
give someone the push — = give someone a push 4:
- If he doesn’t resign after this term—which he won’t—we’ll just have to give him the push.