Noun
iron hand (plural iron hands)
(figuratively) Firmness, inflexibility, sternness.
For ten years Caesar ruled with an iron hand. Then with a wooden foot, and finally with a piece of string. Spike Milligan
Laws are to be enforced justly but firmly, with an iron hand. This is the case anywhere, even in a family. Abu Bakar Bashir
Iron hand in a velvet glove. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
The iron hand crush'd the Tyrant's head And became a Tyrant in his stead. William Blake
An iron hand has stilled the throats That throbbed with loud and rhythmic glee. Joyce Kilmer
What you give, is written in sand; what you take, with an iron hand. German Proverb