Speak softly and carry a big stick

Cultural  

1. A proverb quoted by Theodore Roosevelt as a brief statement of his approach to foreign policy. (See big stick diplomacy.)

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Example Sentences

Teddy Roosevelt, the famous trust-buster of the early 20th century, once advised: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

From US News • Jul. 12, 2016

In other words, Dwight Eisenhower had adopted T.R.'s maxim: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

From Time Magazine Archive

Precious supplies of tin, rubber, aluminum at the bottom of the ocean would leave us in a pretty position to follow Teddy Roosevelt's advice: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

From Time Magazine Archive

"Speak softly and carry a big stick" brings, back the vanished world of Theodore Roosevelt's America.

From Time Magazine Archive

Perhaps the most famous of Roosevelt's epigrammatic sayings is, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

From Theodore Roosevelt and His Times by Howland, Harold