steamroller

steamroller

1. noun Someone or something that holds immense, irresistible, and merciless force or power. Alluding to the unstoppable nature of a literal steamroller. The country's huge military has become a steamroller, wiping out nearly every other country in the region. The team's defensive tackle is an absolute steamroller, pushing offensive linemen aside like they were children.
2. verb To move forward with destructive, crushing force. The tank just steamrollered through the town, smashing everything in its path.
3. To progress with relentless, overpowering force. The unlikely political candidate has steamrollered through the elections, eliminating every opponent that has stood in her way.
4. To cause something to be accepted, passed, adopted, etc., by relentless, overpowering force. The political party is trying to steamroller the legislation through Congress.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

steamroller

tv. to force something to be approved; to force something to happen. He plans to steamroller this bill through Congress, but it just won’t work.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • bummer
  • high
  • high, wide, and handsome
  • wear (one's) apron high
  • angle
  • angling
  • mickey mouse
  • rear end
  • garbage
  • fire and brimstone
References in periodicals archive
Sir Terry's hard drive was steamrollered at the Great Dorset Steam Fair by a vintage John Fowler & Co steamroller named Lord Jericho.
The man, aged 52, said prosecution, was spotted driving the steamroller at 6.30 near the Globe Inn.
"It was like a steamroller and we scored two very good goals.
To bring them on board, we need to first explain why secularism is good and why we need to stop running from the religious right's depiction of secularism as a steamroller that flattens everyone's rights.
A man found guilty of sending a "menacing tweet" was the victim of a legal "steamroller" that threatened to make the law look "silly", it has been argued at the High Court.
"Albrighton does roll about as if he's been hit by a steamroller, but it was a sending off.
This investment was fiscally sound and efficient, saved time and raised morale by allowing the staff to do something it normally doesn't get to do--crunch things with a steamroller. In addition, much of the resulting debris was recyclable.
"Mannheim Steamroller" is Davis' tongue-in-check reference to that technique.)
Kurtz also succumbs to a false dichotomy according to which we only have two options when confronting Muslims: either coddle and appease inherently violent tribes and terrorists, or "get tough" by unleashing the steamroller.
His partners, drummer Geoff Paton and bassist Nick Thieneman, act as a steamroller of a rhythm section who anchor the pulse-pounding ferocity unleashed by their group.
Herms reveals something similarly horrific in the semiautobiographical Alcove of Beginnings, 1979, a sculpture composed of three hinged vertical sheets of plywood covered with, among other things, an earlier stab at AbEx painting, a photo of a cat run over by a steamroller suspended in a wooden contraption (a ready made photo of a readymade), and old documentary photos of mental patients arranging a variety of everyday objects.
A 41-year-old woman who lost a leg when she became trapped under a steamroller remains critical but stable in hospital.
Ultimately, what copper producers and their suppliers might be trying to determine is whether the steamroller of rapid Chinese copper industry growth has paused or peaked permanently.
"I don't believe in sitting back and letting a steamroller roll over me."
Remember the Mannheim Steamroller recordings of the '70s?