run roughshod over
Bulldoze without regard
To run roughshod over someone or something is to treat them with brutal disregard, trampling their interests or objections.
The expression derives from roughshod horses—those fitted with shoes having projecting nails for better traction—which could cause serious injury if they stepped on someone.
Today it's almost always figurative: The new management ran roughshod over employee concerns about the merger.
The phrase implies not just dominance but a callous indifference to the damage inflicted.
- ignoreRefuse to notice
- trampleCrush by stepping
- ride roughshodAct without regard for others
- disregardWillful lack of attention
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
bully · push around · prey upon · steamrolling · throw weight around · railroad · domination · overpower · beat the tar out of · insensitivity · bulldoze · recklessness · subjugation · marginalization · indifference · dismissal · hostility · disrespect
run roughshod overaccommodate
Provide for or adjust
take into account · honor · handle with care · handle with kid gloves · consult
runs, running, runner, runners, rough, roughs, roughed, roughing, roughly