herd

be like herding cats

To be very unwieldy or unmanageable; to be nearly impossible to organize. Usually said of a group of people. Getting all of the extended family into their right places for the reunion photo was like herding cats! It's like herding cats trying to manage all these different software development teams.
See also: cat, herd, like

cull the herd

1. Literally, to separate or remove (and usually kill) inferior animals out of a herd so as to reduce numbers or remove undesirable traits from the group as a whole. We had to quickly cull the herd when it came to light that some cows might be carrying an infectious disease.
2. By extension, to separate or remove people from a larger group. With so many people applying for a limited number of jobs, employers have had to cull the herd by introducing much stricter criteria and a more elaborate application for hiring. Universities have long used standardized test results as a means of culling the herd of applicants they receive each year.
See also: cull, herd

herd cats

To attempt to coordinate or control subjects that are uncooperative. Often used as a point of comparison in the phrase "like herding cats." Trying to get my two toddlers out the door these days is like herding cats!
See also: cat, herd

herd together

To gather people or animals together into a group. A noun or pronoun can be used between "herd" and "together." Have you ever tried to herd together a bunch of cats? Yeah, it's impossible. The teacher spent most of the field trip herding the schoolchildren together.
See also: herd, together

like herding cats

Very unwieldy or unmanageable; nearly impossible to organize or control. Usually said of a group of people. Have you ever tried to get a group of 10 toddlers to stick together in a group? It's like herding cats! It felt like herding cats getting all of the family members into their right places for the reunion photo. It can be like herding cats trying to keep all our different departments on the same page.
See also: cat, herd, like

like herding frogs

Very unwieldy or unmanageable; nearly impossible to organize or control. Usually said of a group of people. Have you ever tried to get a group of 10 toddlers to stick together in a group? It's like herding frogs! It felt like herding frogs getting all of the family members into their right places for the reunion photo. It can be like herding frogs trying to keep all our different departments on the same page.
See also: frog, herd, like

ride herd on (someone or something)

To closely observe or monitor someone or something to supervise or maintain control. An allusion to a cowboy riding on his horse to keep a herd of cattle in order. We want the groups of students to work independently, but we should have a teacher riding herd on each one to make sure they stay focused. Being a camp counselor is a lot of fun, but having to ride herd on a bunch of kids for two weeks at a time can be exhausting.
See also: herd, on, ride
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

herd someone or something together

to bunch people or animals together. Let's herd all the kids together and take them in the house for ice cream and cake. I herded all the puppies together and put them in a box while I cleaned their play area.
See also: herd, together

like herding frogs

Rur. chaotic; disorderly. (On the image of trying to direct frogs, which will jump any which way.) Trying to get those kids to march into the auditorium is like herding frogs. Trying to get everybody to cooperate is like herding frogs.
See also: frog, herd, like

ride herd on someone or something

Fig. to supervise someone or something. (Alludes to a cowboy supervising cattle.) I'm tired of having to ride herd on my kids all the time. My job is to ride herd on this project and make sure everything is done right.
See also: herd, on, ride
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

ride herd on

Keep close watch or tight control over, as in Aunt Martha is always riding herd on her bridge club, making sure they follow the rules . This idiom alludes to the cowboy who rides around a herd of cattle to keep them together. [Late 1800s]
See also: herd, on, ride
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ride herd on someone/something

AMERICAN
If someone rides herd on other people or their actions, they control them. It's his job to ride herd on organizers to keep them on schedule. Note: People sometimes use over instead of on. The ideal situation is one where everyone feels responsible and no one person has to ride herd over the others. Note: Originally, `riding herd' involved patrolling on horseback around a herd of animals, in order to make sure none of them wandered away.
See also: herd, on, ride, someone, something
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

ride herd on

keep watch over.
Literally, this North American expression means ‘guard or control a herd of cattle by riding round its edge’.
1999 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) That, in turn, would detract from his ability to ride herd on Washington special interests, allowing deficits to grow like mushrooms under a rotten log.
See also: herd, on, ride
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ride ˈherd on somebody/something

(American English, informal) keep watch or control over somebody/something: Police are riding herd on crowds of youths on the streets.
See also: herd, on, ride, somebody, something
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

ride herd on

To keep watch or control over.
See also: herd, on, ride
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

ride herd on, to

To control, boss. This phrase originally meant to control or guard a herd of cattle by riding on its perimeter. Its figurative use dates from the late nineteenth century, and it remains current. The mystery novelist Ed McBain used it in Long Time No See (1977): “Two men who should be taking care of people getting robbed or mugged, go to waste our time instead of riding herd on a bunch of street hoodlums.”
See also: herd, ride
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • be like herding cats
  • herd cats
  • like herding cats
  • like fighting snakes
  • like herding frogs
  • have no chance in hell
  • nip (something) in the bud
  • nip in the bud
  • nip something in the bud
  • be near to impossible
References in classic literature
The sun makes the rocks dance in the heat, and the herd children hear one kite(never any more) whistling almost out of sight overhead, and they know that if they died, or a cow died, that kite would sweep down, and the next kite miles away would see him drop and follow, and the next, and the next, and almost before they were dead there would be a score of hungry kites come out of nowhere.
I can take the herd round through the jungle to the head of the ravine and then sweep down --but he would slink out at the foot.
The two wolves ran, ladies'-chain fashion, in and out of the herd, which snorted and threw up its head, and separated into two clumps.
Jungle Book
Then came another of those hollow bellowings from the rear, and set the herd again in motion.
But, as the body of the herd pressed more and more upon the open line of its defenders, and the dust thickened, so as to obscure their persons, there was, at each instant, a renewed danger of the beasts breaking through.
The Prairie
"Now fellow," quoth he, "I would I were well out of this forest, for I care not to see such herds as these, or such faces as yours.
Robin Hood
As the green warrior saw the last of his companions go down and at the same time perceived that the entire herd was charging him in a body, he rushed boldly to meet them, swinging his long-sword in the terrific manner that I had so often seen the men of his kind wield it in their ferocious and almost continual warfare among their own race.
Swift as I was I was none too soon, for the green warrior had been overtaken ere he had made half the distance to the forest, and now he stood with his back to a boulder, while the herd, temporarily balked, hissed and screeched about him.
The Gods of Mars
Shortly after we re-passed the spot where Good had wounded the patriarchal bull we came across a herd of eland, but did not shoot at them, as we had plenty of meat.
King Solomons Mines
They drive the seals, in small herds, a short distance inland before they kill them."
The Sea Wolf
It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St.
The Voyage of the Beagle
"If the animals leading the herd change, this happens because the collective will of all the animals is transferred from one leader to another, according to whether the animal is or is not leading them in the direction selected by the whole herd." Such is the reply historians who assume that the collective will of the people is delegated to rulers under conditions which they regard as known.
"If the animals in front are continually changing and the direction of the whole herd is constantly altered, this is because in order to follow a given direction the animals transfer their will to the animals that have attracted our attention, and to study the movements of the herd we must watch the movements of all the prominent animals moving on all sides of the herd." So say the third class of historians who regard all historical persons, from monarchs to journalists, as the expression of their age.
War and Peace
A march of nine miles took them over high rolling prairies to the north fork; their eyes being regaled with the welcome sight of herds of buffalo at a distance, some careering the plain, others grazing and reposing in the natural meadows.
As far as his eye could reach, the country seemed absolutely blackened by innumerable herds. No language, he says, could convey an adequate idea of the vast living mass thus presented to his eye.
Adventures of Captain Bonneville USA in the Rocky Mountains and