Iron Fist 1

[CajunCenturion]

I am interested in learning the etymology of the phrase "iron fist", when it was first used, and under what circumstances.

Any help would be appreciated, but please, no guesses.

Good Luck
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[Thadeus]

from this link [link]http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:zPPBZC9ls5IJ:users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsi.htm [/url]

Iron fist /hand in the velvet glove
The iron hand as a symbol of powerful control is found from the early 1700s (the iron fist appears in in 1740), but Thomas Carlyle attributes the coining of the expression 'the iron hand in a velvet flove', to mean autocratic rule beneath a softer exterior, to Napoleon, although it has also been attributed to other, earlier rulers. The expression is highly variable, iron fist being as common as "iron hand" and other variants including steel fist, mailed fist and silk glove.

Not a guess, but not definitive either

 

[CajunCenturion]

Excellent Thadeus. I couldn't get to that site because it's "temporarily down". Glad that you were able to retrieved a cached copy from Google

Thank you.

Good Luck
--------------
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read FAQ181-2886
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein