to heel

1. Close behind someone, as in The dog started chasing the car but Miriam called him to heel . This expression is used almost solely in reference to dogs. The heel in this idiom, first recorded in 1810, is the person's.

2. Under control or discipline, as in By a series of surprise raids the police brought the gang members to heel . This expression alludes to controlling a dog by training it to follow at one's heels. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

“The FCC is weaponizing its licensing authority in order to bring broadcasters to heel, and to really think twice about what they say about this administration,” Gomez said Thursday at the Axios Media Trends Live conference.

From Salon

Nineteen years before that, in 2003, he wrote, “Of course, the problem isn’t Putin, and not those whose interests he was appointed to protect in the Kremlin, and whose interests he protects today. The problem is us, who run to heel at the first shout, fussing pettily, bought up on the cheap.”

From Salon

When these attacks didn’t bring Powell to heel, the president sicced his hunting hounds on the scent for a new mark, and Lisa Cook was the most convenient target.

From Slate

They swapped war stories about the government fraud they had exposed and the wasteful bureaucrats they had brought to heel.

From Salon

Another crafty career pivot from face to heel: specifically, from being the face of too many franchises with too few critical hits, to teaming up with Benny Safdie, one of the beloved bad boys of indie cinema.

From Los Angeles Times