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

So the money can be both carrot and stick.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026

“They have used carrot and stick, but I think mostly carrot, to persuade the Syrians that they can serve a useful function for them and they have something to gain from each other.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 1, 2026

Officials and foreign policy observers agree that Trump deftly used a mix of carrot and stick -- publicly and privately, and especially with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- to get the deal done.

From Barron's • Oct. 11, 2025

There was carrot and stick for the rest of the world.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2025

The carrot and stick method works better for some people instead of paying for four years of college and then: Will you like the job you get?

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2023