Idioms

an iron fist

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an iron fist

1. A particularly severe, forceful, and uncompromising manner of ruling, governing, etc. Tom is in for it now with his wife. She might seem like a nice lady to us, but she runs her house with an iron fist. The teacher has an iron fist. If you break any rule at all, you get detention for a week! The dictator has ruled the country with an iron fist since his military coup in 1987.
2. proverb Someone who rules in such a way. The new leader of the country rose to power with promises of democracy and equality, but he soon proved to be an iron fist as his despotic intentions came to light. He's an iron fist, that's why he moves swiftly to gain control over any entity that is not already in his grasp.
See also: an, fist, iron
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

an iron fist

or

an iron hand

COMMON If you do something with an iron fist or an iron hand, you do it with great force and strength. The Generals have ruled the nation with an iron fist for more than half of its independent existence. Peace was enforced with an iron hand in the conquered territories. Note: You can also talk about the iron fist of or the the iron hand of something. The symbol of their rule was not so much the iron fist of repression as the empty shelves of a failing economy.
See also: an, fist, iron
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

an iron ˈfist/ˈhand (in a velvet ˈglove)

harsh treatment of somebody that is hidden behind a gentle manner: The president ruled his country by using an iron fist in a velvet glove.
See also: an, fist, hand, iron
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive
Both "Iron Fist" and "Luke Cage" ended with story lines good enough to continue elsewhere.
It is also currently unknown if either Luke Cage or Iron Fist will continue to appear in the remaining Marvel series, or if they will appear in a new show, or if in fact the streaming giant really is done with the characters for good.
Set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the series starred Finn Jones as Danny Rand, a martial arts expert with a mystical power called the "Iron Fist".
For patients to be given an involuntary injection when not acutely threatening, typically states require some form of legal application for forced medication (a process that does not appear to have been observed in "Iron Fist").
IRON FIST (FINN JONES) Orphaned and raised by monks to become a lean, mean fighting machine, he returned from being presumed dead to take back his family's business and fight New York City's criminal underworld.
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel would respond with an "iron fist" if attacked, in a speech marking 10 years since a devastating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Iron Fist will book motorists who stop on the shoulders of motorways as well as buses that carry more than their capacity, the report said.
The project, scheduled to start filming in the summer, will feature the characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
TEHRAN (FNA)- Terrorism cannot be solved through politics, it should rather be hit with an iron fist, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a rare speech on Syrian state television.
Premier Li Keqiang has promised to tackle pollution and food safety problems with "iron fist and firm resolution."
The contoured design and carbide cutters make the Iron Fist ideal for cobblestone conditions.
He was a Fascist dictator, who ruled with an iron fist. Admiring columns about European fascists were common enough in the 1930s.
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