railroad

Related to railroad: Transcontinental railroad

railroad (one)

1. informal To force one into some action or situation by putting a lot of pressure on one to hurry and acquiesce right away. I really didn't want the surgery, but it felt like the doctors were railroading me. Don't let them railroad you into signing any contracts until you've had a chance for your lawyer to look over them.
2. informal To convict one of a crime without due process or based on false evidence. We need to reopen the case. I know my son is innocent, and he was only convicted because he was railroaded!
See also: railroad

railroad (one) into (something)

To force one into some action or situation by putting a lot of pressure on one to hurry and acquiesce right away. I feel like the doctors railroaded me into getting this dangerous surgery, even though there's no guarantees that it will work or even help! Don't let them railroad you into signing any contracts until you've had a chance for your lawyer to look over them.
See also: railroad

railroad (something)

informal To force the passage or acceptance of something, especially legislation, by an authoritative body with such haste and pressure that the normal careful considerations of its implications are avoided. Riding a strong wave of pro-nationalist sentiment, the senator was able to railroad a bill through congress that would criminalize public criticism of the government. After the scandal, the board of directors of the giant corporation railroaded a policy change that would curtail the rights of employees around the country.
See also: railroad

railroad (something) through

To force the passage or acceptance of something, especially legislation, by an authoritative body with such haste and pressure that the standard considerations of its implications are avoided or ignored. Riding a strong wave of pro-nationalist sentiment, the senator was able to railroad a bill through congress that would criminalize public criticism of the government. After the scandal, the board of directors of the giant corporation railroaded a policy change through that would curtail the rights of employees around the country.
See also: railroad, through

railroad tracks

1. slang Orthodontic braces used to correct the alignment of one's teeth. Ugh, I am going to be so ready to get these railroad tracks off my teeth! My jaw always aches for days whenever they tighten my railroad tracks.
2. slang Scarring caused by excessive intravenous drug use. Judging by the railroad tracks on his arm, I'd say our John Doe was an addict.
3. slang The bars of a military insignia worn by and indicating someone with the rank of Captain. Wear those railroad tracks with pride, Captain. You've earned them.
4. slang Lines of powdered narcotics, typically cocaine, prepared to be inhaled through the nose. When I saw them cutting up railroad tracks on the table, I knew it was time to leave the party.
See also: railroad, track

underground railroad

1. capitalized An organized network of secret workers, routes, and safe houses used to ferry escaped African-American slaves to free states or present-day Canada. A former slave herself, Harriet Tubman was an instrumental figure in the Underground Railroad, saving roughly 70 people from slavery over the course of 13 rescue missions.
2. By extension, any network of people working together secretly to help fugitives escape to places of safety and freedom. The human rights organization has begun operating an underground railroad in the third-world country to help human trafficking victims escape from bondage. A former slave herself, Harriet Tubman was an instrumental figure in the Underground Railroad
See also: railroad, underground
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

railroad someone into something

to force someone into doing something in great haste. The salesman tried to railroad me into signing the contract. You can't railroad me into doing anything!
See also: railroad

railroad something through (something)

to force something through some legislative body without due consideration. The committee railroaded the new constitution through the ratification process. Mary felt she could railroad the legislation through.
See also: railroad, through
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

underground railroad

A secret network for moving and housing fugitives, as in There's definitely an underground railroad helping women escape abusive husbands. This term, dating from the first half of the 1800s, alludes to the network that secretly transported runaway slaves through the northern states to Canada. It was revived more than a century later for similar escape routes.
See also: railroad, underground
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

railroad tracks

1. n. dental braces. I can’t smile because of these railroad tracks.
2. n. rows of needle scars on the veins of the arms. Look at those railroad tracks on his arm. That means he shoots drugs.
See also: railroad, track
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • drive (one) out of office
  • force (one) out of office
  • force out of office
  • as one door closes, another (one) opens
  • as one door closes, another one opens
  • as one door closes, another opens
  • give (one) (one's) head
  • give head
  • give somebody their head
  • give someone their head
References in periodicals archive
Still up in the air: Why was Central Oregon & Pacific burning railroad tie pieces?
Case smoldering over burning of railroad ties
Commercial telegraph companies often benefitted from railroad systems paralleling their own circuits.
Telegraphs and Railroads
The Staggers Act of 1980 contained provisions that make railroad abandonment easier.
Railroad competition and wheat rates
23 February 2015 - US railroad management company OmniTRAX, Inc's US-based Peru Industrial Railroad, LLC affiliate is purchasing the Peru Rail Line from the city of Peru, IL., the company said on Monday.
OmniTRAX Affiliate to Buy Illinois, USA Railroad
Because railroads deliver to every industry, railroad freight is a good economic barometer of cyclical changes.
Railroads: old industry still vital in today's economy
The Alaska Railroad is a smaller entity today than it was six years ago.
Alaska railroad moves forward: O'Leary optimistic for growth
In addition, the board has accepted a declaratory order request from the railroad to make a ruling that under pre-emption the railroad can construct and operate a propane loading facility in the town.
FSTB gives OK to Grafton rail yard
The Little Rock & Western Railway uses east-west rails between Danville (Yell County) and Little Rock that became available when the Rock Island Railroad went bankrupt in 1980.
The little railroads that could: short lines have remained remarkably healthy in Arkansas
Not only did railroads have a direct relationship with actual fighting, but as the web of iron rails had spread in the South during the 1850s, slavery itself had become more mobile, and, in Thomas's words, "[Southerners] came to believe that the railroad ensured slavery's and the South's future" (34).
The Iron Way: Railroads, the Civil War, and the Making of Modern America
That is but one way to look at the railroad. If, instead, you assume that the overland locomotive represented anything but high and progressive civilization, you have a different vision of that important drawing.
Institute on California and the West Railroaded Workshop, Huntington Library, San Marino, CA, July 9, 2011: what is this railroad to do for us?
It presents the results of GAO's web-based survey of 254 freight railroads about the operational and administrative impacts on the railroads of changes to hours of service requirements made by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA).
Freight Railroad Safety: Results of Rail Industry Survey about Hours of Service Issues (GAO-11-894SP, September 2011), an E-supplement to GAO-11-853
By itself, this chapter is a complete and interesting history of railroad development in the United States.
Christian Wolmar, Blood, Iron, and Gold: How the Railroads Transformed the World
Florida East Coast Railway becomes newest AAR member The Association of American Railroads on Monday announced that the Florida East Coast Railway has become its newest railroad member.
Transportion News Alert
Continued financial problems for railroads outside the Northeast resulted in the passage of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976.
Railroad performance under the Staggers Act: deregulation revived the rail freight industry, with most of the gains going to shippers
This history of Canton, Ohio area railroads is composed primarily of charming archival photographs donated by members of the Akron Railroad Club.
Canton area railroads