crack the whip

crack the whip {v. phr.}, {informal}

To get obedience or cooperation by threats of punishment.

If the children won't behave when I reason with them, I have to crack the whip.

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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms

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[hard nut to crack] also [tough nut to crack] {n. phr.}, {informal} Something difficult to understand or to do. * /Tom's algebra lesson was a hard nut to crack./ * […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

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[buggy-whip] {n.}, {slang} An unusually long, thin radio antenna on a car that bends back like a whip when the car moves fast. * /He's very impressed with himself ever […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

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take a crack at

[take a crack at] {v. phr.} To try doing something. * /It was a difficult challenge to reorganize our antiquated campus, but the resident architect decided to take a crack […] A Dictionary of American Idioms

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Don't do anything you wouldn't be willing to explain on television.