put (one) through the wringer
To subject one to some ordeal, difficulty, trial, or punishment; to force one to undergo an unpleasant experience. My mother's recent bout with cancer has really put us through the wringer this year.
put someone through the wringer
Fig. to give someone a difficult time; to interrogate someone thoroughly. (Alludes to putting something through an old-fashioned clothes wringer.) The lawyer really put the witness through the wringer! The teacher put the students through the wringer.
put someone through the wringer (or the mangle)
subject someone to a very stressful experience, especially a severe interrogation. informal 1984 Louise Erdrich Love Medicine I saw that he had gone through the wringer. He was red-eyed, gaunt, and he was drunk.
put (someone) through the wringer
Slang To subject to a severe trial or ordeal.