slave driver

noun

1. an overseer of enslaved laborers and enforcer of hierarchy and discipline in the institution of chattel slavery.
2. a hard taskmaster:

   His boss was a slave driver.

slave-driver

noun

1. (esp formerly) a person forcing slaves to work
2. an employer who demands excessively hard work from his employees

Word History and Origins

Origin of slave driver¹

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10

Example Sentences

It would have elevated the slave driver and left enslaved people hopeless.

From Washington Post

In response, Theresa May, the home secretary at the time, sponsored a bill to prosecute what she called “modern slave drivers.”

From New York Times

She said that Italy had been giving immigrants few legal pathways, while instead letting migration be dominated by “smugglers” and “slave drivers.”

From Washington Post

I also see Trump's favorite president, Andrew Jackson, a literal white supremacist slave driver and a man who led a genocidal campaign against First Nations people.

From Salon

He worked the rat crews like a slave driver.

From Literature