crack the whip

[ krak-thuh wip, hwip ]

verb (used without object)

1. to demand obedience, hard work, or efficiency from others in a harsh or stern manner.

noun

1. Also called snap the whip. a game in which players in a line, each holding the next, run, roller-skate, or ice-skate for a distance until the leader veers suddenly in a new direction, causing the rest of the line to swing around rapidly and the players at the end of the line to lose their balance or to let go of the other players.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crack the whip¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Jagger, now the band’s senior member at age 80, has said that the Stones recruited Watt because they needed an outside figure to “crack the whip” — a role the producer has fulfilled on recent albums by fellow veterans such as Ozzy Osbourne and Iggy Pop.

From Los Angeles Times

In an interview last year as McCarthy was seeking reelection, Jack Pandol Jr., a Republican strategist, said the congressman was a cross between “Gen. Patton and the Energizer Bunny. He can crack the whip. He is a survivor. His enemies have taken a shot at him more than once and he still gets up.”

From Los Angeles Times

It was time to crack the whip.

From Salon

“Gazing wistfully at my future home while I wait for James to crack the whip on the contractors and herd the cats,” Saylor wrote.

From Washington Post

“He can crack the whip. He is a survivor. His enemies have taken a shot at him more than once and he still gets up.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absolute
• arbitrary
• arrogant
• autocratic
• dogmatic
• domineering
• haughty
• imperious
• oppressive
• overbearing
• totalitarian