bring to heel | Idiomator

Meaning: (transitive,idiomatic)Tocompelsomeone toobey; to force someone into asubmissivecondition.1906,John Galsworthy, chapter 12, inThe Forsyte Saga, Part I:They wanted a lesson, and they would get it; but it would take three months at least tobringthemto heel.1988June 10,Howell Raines, “Journal: In Tory Country, Someone to Watch Over TV”, inNew York Times, retrieved16 January 2012:Even some fellow Conservatives maintain that Sir William has shown a dangerously authoritarian streak since enlisting as a general in Mrs. Thatcher's single-minded campaign tobringbroadcastersto heel.1996January 28, “Hillary Clinton”, inC-SPAN - Keene State College in New Hampshire:In reference to black teenagers, "We also have to have an organized effort against gangs…. They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called superpredators. No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have tobring them to heel.2011April 4, “Ahmad Shuja Pasha”, inTime:Now Pasha says the ISI is the only organization that canbringthe wayward Talibanto heel.2022February 25, Thomas L. Friedman, “We Have Never Been Here Before”, inThe New York Times‎[1],→ISSN:We know that Putin has vastly improved Russia’s armed forces, adding everything from hypersonic missile capabilities to advanced cyberwarfare tools. He has the firepower tobringUkraineto heel.2023July 12, Jim Steer, “Rail's route to seizing the initiative”, inRAIL, number987, page39:Network Rail, which had been able to secure funding from a multitude of 'patient capital' players across the world, wasbrought to heel, its credit card scissored.; (transitive,idiomatic)To cause to act in a disciplined manner.

Examples:

EN: You're unable to face facts and bring to heel candle wax stealers like this one.
ES: Tu no sirves para andar por el mundo y meter en cintura a rapavelas como éste.
EN: When will you accept that no amount of pressure or reason will bring to heel a conspiracy whose members walk these halls with absolute impunity?
ES: ¿Cuando aceptará que no importa la cantidad de presión o las razones para ocultar una conspiración cuyos miembros caminan por estos pasillos con absoluta impunidad?

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