crack the whip
to make people work very hard

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

crack the whip
to use your authority to cause people to do more or do what you want.
He is one editor who knows how to crack the whip, so his authors generally hand in their assignments on time.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

crack the whip
to try to make someone work hard or obey you by threatening them
We had to crack the whip in order to get the job finished before the weekend.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

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.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲