mailed fist
Americannoun
-
superior force, especially military force, when presented as a threat.
The country showed its mailed fist in negotiations.
-
brutal or naked power, especially coercive force.
the mailed fist hidden in the velvet glove.
Etymology
Origin of mailed fist
First recorded in 1895–1900
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He'd grown up in Poland, under the mailed fist of Soviet hegemony.
From US News ● Sep. 24, 2015
These testaments to Stalin personified "force with charm, the twinkling eyes with the mailed fist".
From The Guardian ● Jan. 6, 2013
His suggestions to editors and his criticisms tended to be delivered in a velvet glove, not with a mailed fist.
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2012
Chamberlain dealt with Hitler "in the language of sweet reasonableness," Duff Cooper told the House, in a speech interrupted by his sobbing, "whereas the mailed fist is the only language Hitler understands!"
From Time Magazine Archive
Little Walder banged a mailed fist against his breastplate.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
