carrot and stick

Idioms  

1. Reward and punishment used as persuasive measures, as in Management dangled the carrot of a possible raise before strikers, but at the same time waved the stick of losing their pension benefits. This term alludes to enticing a horse or donkey to move by dangling a carrot before it and, either alternately or at the same time, urging it forward by beating it with a stick. [Late 1800s]

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Example Sentences

“We are still trying to find the right balance between the carrot and stick.”

From Science Magazine

“The new law is the stick part of the carrot and stick diplomacy. But it is defensive in nature, not offensive, and will only be used when other countries apply sanctions on us first,” said Cheng Xiaohe, an associate professor of international studies at the Renmin University of China.

From Reuters

Wielding both carrot and stick, they anointed heroes and villains for a population more immediately concerned with getting home safely than with the benevolence of U.S. power.

From Los Angeles Times

I set up such a program when I was U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh — strict enforcement of possession laws, combined with social services in a “carrot and stick” approach can help bring down gun deaths.

From Los Angeles Times

The Muscat meeting, one of the sources said, was part of a new “carrot and stick” approach by U.S.

From Reuters