iron lady—
1. said of a tough or intransigent woman:
- She was an iron lady who took part in the rallies even after her head was injured twice in police baton charges.
2. (Iron Lady) the nickname of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister (1979–1991):
- The Iron Lady of British politics, Margaret Thatcher was the longest continuously serving prime minister since 1827.
iron maiden—
1. an old instrument of torture:
- A person was placed inside the box of the iron maiden while the door (which had impaling spikes on the inside) was closed slowly to maximize pain.
2. (Iron Maiden) = iron lady 2:
- Tension was exacerbated by the cold-war rhetoric which both President Reagan and Mrs. Thatcher consciously adopted, the latter reveling in the “Iron Maiden” label.