digging in one's heels
Stubbornly holding ground
To dig in one's heels is to refuse to change one's position or yield to pressure.
The image is of someone bracing their feet against the ground to resist being moved: Management dug in their heels on the salary negotiations.
The phrase implies stubbornness, whether admirable resolve or frustrating obstinacy depending on perspective.
- stubbornnessRefusal to yield
- refusalAct of declining
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- standing one's groundRefusing to yield position
noncompliance · entrenchment · holding firm · balking · impasse · obstinacy · resolve · standoff · last stand · standing ground · tenacity · conviction · willpower · line in the sand · stonewalling · doubling down · playing hardball · disagreement
digging in one's heelscompromising
Exposing to harm or scandal
yielding · giving ground · bending · accommodating · budging
digging in one's heelscapitulating
Ceasing to resist
giving in · caving · surrendering · backing down · caving in
digging in one's heelswavering
Showing unsteady resolve
vacillating · waffling · flip-flopping · hedging · equivocating