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crack the whip

American  
[krak-thuh wip, hwip] / ˈkræk ðə ˈwɪp, ˈʰwɪp /

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.

crack the whip Idioms  

  1. 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.

Etymology

Origin of crack the whip

First recorded in 1885–90

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.