big stick Hear it!

big stick definition

☆ big stick

a policy of acting or negotiating from a position backed by a show of strength

Etymology: from “speak softly and carry a big stick,” portion of Afr proverb quoted by T. Theodore Roosevelt

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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