roughshod

[ruhf-shod]

adjective

1. shod shoe with horseshoes having projecting nails or points.

roughshod

/ ˈrʌfˌʃɒd /

adjective

1. (of a horse) shod with rough-bottomed shoes to prevent sliding

adverb

1. to domineer over or act with complete disregard for

Word History and Origins

Origin of roughshod¹

First recorded in 1680–90; rough + shod

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. ride roughshod over, to treat harshly or domineeringly; override; crush.

   He rode roughshod over his friends to advance himself in the business world.

Example Sentences

It was a "failure at all levels of government" that "private enterprise has simply been allowed to run roughshod" with contracts that simply benefited them, he added.

From BBC

Insisting it was "pronounced Bouquet," Hyacinth ran roughshod over her long-suffering husband and bewildered neighbours in Keeping Up Appearances, one of Britain's most successful sitcoms in the 1990s.

From BBC

"Glasgow's SNP-run council rode roughshod over the rules and, as a result, departing officials received eye-watering payouts with little to no oversight," he said.

From BBC

They will run roughshod over the taxpayer-funded safety net designed to help our most vulnerable and sneeringly refer to Americans who use federal benefits as members of the parasite class.

From Salon

He has run roughshod through the rules-based world order that forged the foundation for global stability and security in the aftermath of World War II.

From BBC