crack the whip

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crack the whip

To push or urge someone (usually one's subordinate) to work harder, likened to literally cracking a whip to control or urge on an animal. The boss is nervous that we'll lose this account, so he's really started cracking the whip on us.

See also: crack, whip

crack the whip

Behave in a domineering and demanding way toward one's subordinates. For example, He's been cracking the whip ever since he got his promotion. This expression, first recorded in 1647, alludes to drivers of horse-drawn wagons who snapped their whips hard, producing a loud cracking noise. Its figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

See also: crack, whip

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

crack the whip

If a person in authority cracks the whip, they make people work hard by being strict. They've recently installed a new management team to crack the whip. Donna stayed at home and cracked the whip over her three girls and son. Note: When someone makes people work hard by being strict with them, you can talk about the crack of their whip. He has, he says `a team of ten working hard under' him. You can almost hear the crack of his whip.

See also: crack, whip

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

crack the ˈwhip

use your authority or power to make somebody work very hard, usually by treating them in a strict way: What you need to do is crack the whip and make sure that they do the job properly.

See also: crack, whip

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

crack the whip

To behave in a domineering manner; demand hard work and efficiency from those under one's control.

See also: crack, whip

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in classic literature ?

sirrah!" reiterated Crimsworth; and to complete his apostrophe, he cracked the whip straight over my head.

View in context

It is time the government cracked the whip on some of the contractors who are sleeping on their job," Mr Murungi said.

Contractors put on notice over stalled projects in Meru

The Council has also cracked the whip with regard to ball-tampering with any attempt to tamper with the ball leading to a minimum ban of 12 ODIs or 6 tests.

ICC modifies Duckworth-Lewis as high-scoring games become the norm

NASA co-principal Musalia Mudavadi yesterday said it was time Uhuru stopped issuing threats and instead cracked the whip on corruption.

Stop issuing threats and crack whip on corruption, Uhuru told

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation ( DGCA) cracked the whip after an IndiGo flight bound for Lucknow returned to Ahmedabad within 40 minutes of its getting airborne due to a mid-air engine failure on Monday.

IndiGo cancels 47 flights

After Congress veteran Ahmed Patel's hard-fought victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party yesterday cracked the whip against 14 rebel legislators, including former chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela, expelling them for six years for anti-party activities.

Congress expels 14 rebel legislators in Gujarat

Rodolfo Farinas exclaimed on Saturday as he cracked the whip on tardiness at the House of Representatives.

House cracks down on tardiness

I cracked the whip on myself, got it done, and even had some fun."

Uncovered

It's not his fault (this time), as Kevin has cracked the whip at work and he's working on a motorway breakdown.

WE LOVE SOAPS

That's because political journalists cracked the whip over last year's dirty tricks when they undid my apron strings - the Shrove Tuesday equivalent of loosening a racehorse's saddle.

Cracking the whip

Connacht coach Eric Elwood has cracked the whip and warned his men not to pick up any more yellow cards after four players were sin-binned in their opening two games.

ELWOOD'S WARNING

Again the GRA have cracked the whip, so not allowing the older and disabled owners to watch the Channel 425 service.

Greyhounds: Letter: Freebies, not TV, have driven owners away

And while manager Sir Alex Ferguson has cracked the whip off the pitch, insisting on the eve of the season that reputations would count for nothing, Keane is doing so on it.

FOOTBALL: Roy's real Ruud boy

But most timely was seeing Dave Dee, the man who cracked the whip in the Legend of Xanadu, now cracking the whip as a magistrate.