fist
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an iron fist in a velvet glove
A person who has a gentle, sweet, or unassuming appearance or disposition, but who in reality is particularly severe, forceful, and uncompromising. Tom is in for it now with his wife. She might seem like a nice lady to us, but she's an iron fist in a velvet glove. The new leader of the country rose to power with promises of democracy and equality, but as his despotic intentions came to light he soon proved to be an iron fist in a velvet glove.
fist bump
1. noun The act of touching the knuckle side of one's clenched fist with someone else's, either as a greeting or in a cheerful or celebratory manner. Also known as a "pound." He was so excited by the team's overtime win that he gave everyone fist bumps as we left the stadium.
2. verb To touch one's clenched fist with someone else's in such a manner. He was so excited by the team's overtime win that he was fist bumping everyone as we left the stadium.
ham-fisted
1. Uncoordinated or clumsy with one's hands. My mother does beautiful calligraphy, but I'm so ham-fisted that I can barely hold the pen. No, I'm too ham-fisted to repair that delicate figurine.
2. Inept in one's personal interactions. Tommy is so ham-fisted that he'll never be able to mediate this situation.
make a good fist of (something)
To do a very good job of something. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. Wow, you and the lads made a good fist of painting the house! Everyone seems to agree that the government made a good fist of bringing high-speed internet to the countryside.
hand over fist
At a brisk pace or rate. This doll is so popular that the manufacturer is making money hand over fist.
make a better fist of (something)
To do a much better job of something (than someone else). Primarily heard in UK, Australia. Here, I'm sure you'll make a better fist of painting the house than I will. The nonprofit has been making a better fist of providing social services than the government has ever done.
make a poor fist of (something)
To do a very poor job of something. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. You and the lads really made a poor fist of painting the house—I want you to do it over again! Everyone seems to agree that the government made a poor fist of bringing high-speed internet to the countryside.
make a good/bad/etc. fist of (something)
To do or complete something to a degree of satisfaction that is specified by an adjective immediately preceding "fist." Primarily heard in UK. Wow, you and the lads made a good fist of painting the house! For an amateur, she didn't make a bad fist of performing on stage.
make money hand over fist
To make a lot of profit at a very fast pace. This doll is so popular that the manufacturer is making money hand over fist. We could make money hand over fist if we patented this idea.
lose money hand over fist
To lose a lot of money at a very fast pace. Companies around the world are losing money hand over fist as oil prices continue to plummet.
shake (one's) fist at (someone or something)
To demonstrate one's anger, frustration, or annoyance toward someone by raising one's fist and shaking it in their direction. Can be used literally or figuratively. The old man sits on his porch shaking his fist at kids who walk on his lawn. There's no point shaking your fist at the universe when things aren't going your way—you just need to pick yourself up and do everything in your power to make things better.
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.
2. 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.
an iron hand
1. A particularly severe, forceful, and uncompromising manner of doing something. 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 hand.
2. A person who does things in such a manner. The new leader of the country rose to power with promises of democracy and equality, but he soon proved to be an iron hand as his despotic intentions came to light.
iron fist
A manner that is severe, forceful, or uncompromising. Grandma runs the house with an iron fist—if you break a rule, you're grounded for weeks.
rule with an iron fist
To rule, govern, or control a group or population with complete, typically tyrannical authority over all aspects of life, work, etc. A noun or pronoun can be used between "rule" and "with." He rules with an iron fist, and moves swiftly to gain control over any entity that is not already in his grasp. She has ruled this company with an iron fist for three decades, and it's going to be difficult for her to let go of control.
hand over fist
Fig. [for money and merchandise to be exchanged] very rapidly. What a busy day. We took in money hand over fist. They were buying things hand over fist.
rule with an iron fist
Fig. to rule in a very stern manner. The dictator ruled with an iron fist and terrified the citizens. My boss rules with an iron fist. I'm looking for a new job.
*tight as a drum
1. stretched tight. (*Also: as ~.) Julia stretched the upholstery fabric over the seat of the chair until it was as tight as a drum. The skin on his scalp is tight as a drum.
2. sealed tight. (*Also: as ~.) Now that I've caulked all the windows, the house should be tight as a drum. Your butterfly died because the jar is as tight as a drum.
3. and *tight as Midas's fist very stingy. (*Also: as ~.) He won't contribute a cent. He's as tight as a drum. Old Mr. Robinson is tight as Midas's fist. Won't spend money on anything.
two-fisted
Fig. [of a male] aggressive and feisty. Perry is a real, two-fisted cowboy, always ready for a fight or a drunken brawl.
hand over fist
Rapidly, at a tremendous rate, as in He's making money hand over fist. This expression is derived from the nautical hand over hand, describing how a sailor climbed a rope. [First half of 1800s]
tight as a drum
Taut or close-fitting; also, watertight. For example, That baby's eaten so much that the skin on his belly is tight as a drum, or You needn't worry about leaks; this tent is tight as a drum. Originally this expression alluded to the skin of a drumhead, which is tightly stretched, and in the mid-1800s was transferred to other kinds of tautness. Later, however, it sometimes referred to a drum-shaped container, such as an oil drum, which had to be well sealed to prevent leaks, and the expression then signified "watertight."
hand over fist
If you are making or losing money hand over fist, you are making or losing a lot of money very quickly. AAC's speciality channels were making money hand over fist. The companies had no skills and almost all were losing money hand over fist. Note: This expression comes from the image of a sailor moving his hands steadily one over the other while pulling in a rope or raising a sail.
an iron fist
oran 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.
an iron fist in the velvet glove
If you describe someone or something as an iron fist in the velvet glove you mean that they look gentle but in fact they use a lot of force. There is an iron fist in the velvet glove of the charming Irishman as he plots to make Leeds the top team of the new millennium.
make a — fist of
do something to a specified degree of success. informal 1998 Times An opening stand of 99 by Hancock and Hewson helped Gloucestershire to make a decent fist of it yesterday.
make (or lose or spend) money hand over fist
make (or lose or spend) money very rapidly or in very large quantities. informalThis phrase first appeared in the mid 18th century as hand over hand . Found in nautical contexts, it referred to the movement of a person's hands when rapidly climbing a rope or hauling it in. By the mid 19th century, hand over hand was being used to mean ‘advancing continuously and rapidly’, especially of one ship pursuing another. Hand over fist is first recorded in the early 19th century, also in a nautical context, but it was soon used more generally to indicate speed, especially in the handling of money.
1991 Simon Winchester Pacific Japan continued making money hand over fist, the American trade deficit became steadily larger and larger.
make a better, good, poor, etc. ˈfist of something
(British English, informal) make a good, bad, etc. attempt to do something: The Irish rugby team are hoping to make a better fist of it than the English did yesterday.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.make/lose money ˌhand over ˈfist
(informal) make/lose money very fast and in large quantities: Some of these tennis players are making money hand over fist.shake your ˈfist (at somebody)
hold up your fist (= your closed hand) at somebody because you are angry or because you want to threaten them: He got out of the car, shaking his fist in anger at the driver in the car behind.hand over fist
mod. repeatedly and energetically, especially as with taking in money in a great volume. We were taking in fees hand over fist, and the people were lined up for blocks.
two-fisted drinker
n. a heavy drinker; someone who drinks with both hands. The world is filled with guys who aspire to be two-fisted drinkers.
hand over fist
At a tremendous rate: made money hand over fist.
grease someone's palm/fist, to
To bribe someone; also, to give a gratuity. This term has been around since the sixteenth century, and apparently a version of it was known even in Roman times, when Pliny the Younger called it unguentarium, translated as “ointment money” (Epistles, ca. a.d. 98). “Wyth golde and grotes they grese my hande,” wrote John Skelton (Magnyfycence, ca. 1529).
hand over fist
Moving quickly. This term comes from sailing and began life as hand over hand, which is how sailors climbed a rope. In nineteenth-century America it was changed to hand over fist and was transferred to any enterprise in which rapid, easy progress is being made. Thus Seba Smith wrote, “They clawed the money off of his table hand over fist” (Major Downing, 1833).
tight as a drum
Close-fitting and taut. The analogy is to the skin of the drumhead, which is tightly stretched so that when it is struck the drum sounds as it should. This term was transferred in the nineteenth century to anything stretched taut; Thomas Hughes (Tom Brown’s School Days, 1857) described his hero as having eaten so much that “his little skin is as tight as a drum.” In succeeding years, however, the analogy itself was sometimes to a drum-shaped container for liquids, such as an oil drum, which of course must be well sealed to prevent leakage. Hence the expression “tight as a drum” also became synonymous with “watertight,” as in “The shelter they rigged up was as tight as a drum.”
hand over fist
Continuously. A sailor hauls in lines (“ropes” to you, landlubbers) not by jerky interrupted pulls, but in a smooth hand-over-hand motion. That's the image applied to people who make money hand over fist, which is how the phrase is most always used.