fist

A person who has a gentle, sweet, or unassuming appearance or disposition, but who in reality is particularly severe, forceful, and uncompromising. Tom is in for it now with his wife. She might seem like a nice lady to us, but she's an iron fist in a velvet glove. The new leader of the country rose to power by promises of democracy and equality to its citizens, but as his despotic intentions came to light he soon proved to be an iron fist in a velvet glove.

Fig. [for money and merchandise to be exchanged] very rapidly. What a busy day. We took in money hand over fist. They were buying things hand over fist.

Fig. to rule in a very stern manner. The dictator ruled with an iron fist and terrified the citizens. My boss rules with an iron fist. I'm looking for a new job.

Fig. [of a male] aggressive and feisty. Perry is a real, two-fisted cowboy, always ready for a fight or a drunken brawl.

quickly and continuously A few years ago, those people made money hand over fist. Developers are putting up cheap new houses hand over fist in our town.

to do something well He made a good fist of explaining why we need to improve our public transport system. He built the house himself and made a surprisingly good fist of it. (British & Australian old-fashioned)

if you make or lose money hand over fist, you make or lose large amounts of it very quickly Business was good and we were making money hand over fist.

something that you say when you are describing someone who seems to be gentle but is in fact severe and firm To enforce each new law the president uses persuasion first, and then force - the iron hand in the velvet glove.

to control a group of people very firmly, having complete power over everything that they do For 17 years she ruled the country with a rod of iron. My uncle rules the family business with an iron hand.

Rapidly, at a tremendous rate, as in He's making money hand over fist. This expression is derived from the nautical hand over hand, describing how a sailor climbed a rope. [First half of 1800s]

Taut or close-fitting; also, watertight. For example, That baby's eaten so much that the skin on his belly is tight as a drum, or You needn't worry about leaks; this tent is tight as a drum. Originally this expression alluded to the skin of a drumhead, which is tightly stretched, and in the mid-1800s was transferred to other kinds of tautness. Later, however, it sometimes referred to a drum-shaped container, such as an oil drum, which had to be well sealed to prevent leaks, and the expression then signified "watertight."

At a tremendous rate: made money hand over fist.

Continuously. A sailor hauls in lines (“ropes” to you, landlubbers) not by jerky interrupted pulls, but in a smooth hand-over-hand motion. That's the image applied to people who make money hand over fist, which is how the phrase is most always used.