iron hand in a velvet glove
01
a person who appears gentle and kind on the outside, but they are firm, resolute, and even ruthless in their actions
Idiom
Informal
例
The iron hand in the velvet glove approach seems to work best with this age group.
The patriarch has always been an iron fist in a velvet glove. Everything was smiles and sunshine in his family, unless you made the mistake of ever going against his wishes.
