ride herd on

English

Etymology

From the cowboy task of driving cattle while riding along with them.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Verb

ride herd on (third-person singular simple present rides herd on, present participle riding herd on, simple past rode herd on, past participle ridden herd on)

1. (transitive, idiomatic, US) To supervise a group of people and their work.
   • 1981, John Updike, Rabbit is Rich:

     But Rabbit feels as though he owns it all, showing up at the showroom day after day, riding herd on the paperwork and the payroll […]

   As the new editor, his job is to ride herd on the staff and check on the tone of the articles.