Ride roughshod over
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Use power or force without regard for another person's rights, wishes, feelings or objections. It can also describe overriding rules, evidence or established procedure.
Origin
Roughshod originally described a horse fitted with shoes whose projecting nail heads or calks improved traction and could make trampling especially destructive. The adjective is recorded from the late 15th century, while dictionaries date figurative adverbial use to the late 18th century; the wording 'ride roughshod over' is documented in the 19th century. The modern idiom transfers the image of an unstoppable, damaging horse to a person or institution that forces its way past opposition. British English commonly uses 'ride,' while North American English also commonly uses 'run.'
Research Sources
Variants
- Ride roughshod
- Ride roughshod over someone
- Run roughshod over
- Run roughshod over someone
Usage Examples
- The board cannot ride roughshod over residents simply because the project is profitable.
- She revised the timetable without riding roughshod over the staff who had to deliver it.
- The judgment found that the agency had ridden roughshod over its own consultation rules.