Idiom
ride herd on
Meaning
To supervise.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The manager has to ride herd on the new team.”
“During the busy holiday season, the supervisor must ride herd on every department to ensure all orders ship on time.”
“The project lead struggled to ride herd on the creative team, whose members often ignored deadlines in favor of pursuing their own artistic visions.”
Examples
simple
“The manager has to ride herd on the new team.”
contextual
“During the busy holiday season, the supervisor must ride herd on every department to ensure all orders ship on time.”
complex
“The project lead struggled to ride herd on the creative team, whose members often ignored deadlines in favor of pursuing their own artistic visions.”
Origin
Derived from the American cowboy's practice of managing a group of cattle by riding along their perimeter. The term describes the specific task of driving a herd from horseback to ensure the animals remain together and moving in the intended direction.
Key words
Related idioms
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