drive a hard bargain

Idioms  

1. Be severe in negotiating a transaction, make an agreement to one's advantage. For example, It's more than I planned to pay, but you drive a hard bargain. This expression, first recorded in 1836, uses the verb drive in the sense of “forcefully carry through.”

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Example Sentences

But teapot refineries, clustered in China’s Shandong, a province sitting on the lower reaches of the Yellow River, are likely to drive a hard bargain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026

By preventing creditors from attaching to Iraq’s oil shipments, the country was able to drive a hard bargain.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

Since they haggle on behalf of health plans that collectively enroll hundreds of millions of Americans, these PBMs have considerable leverage, and should theoretically drive a hard bargain and win enormous discounts.

From Salon • May 31, 2025

Turkey's leader likes to drive a hard bargain and his unpredictability has become something of a trademark, but what is Recep Tayyip Erdogan up to now?

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2023

“You know I like you, Alex. You drive a hard bargain, and I respect that. I don’t cheat you. For you, a couple of cans of chicken noodle soup.”

From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer