iron hand

Rigorous control, as in He ruled the company with an iron hand. This usage is sometimes put as iron hand in a velvet glove, meaning "firm but seemingly gentle control," as in She runs the town with an iron hand in a velvet glove. [c. 1700]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Hokolesqua	-	Native American, Shawnee
Badr	-	Arabic
Isidoro	ee-see-DHO-ro (Spanish), ee-zee-DO-ro (Italian)	Spanish, Italian
Samuel	SAM-yoo-əl (English), SAM-yəl (English), sah-MWEL (Spanish), SAH-moo-el (Swedish, Finnish)	English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Swedish, Norwegian, Dani
Webber	['webə]
Rosina	[rəu'zi:nə]