strong man—
1. a man who publicly exhibits feats of great strength:
- He was the product of a union between the strong man of a traveling circus and the Chief Wardress at the Women’s Prison.
2. a man who exercises great political power:
- We got to get a strong man in the White House to kick out the bankers and grafting politicians and racketeers.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase strong silent man—a man of few words who conceals and controls his feelings:
- It is useless to model ourselves now on the strong, silent man of the novel whose face is a shutter to hide his emotions.
strong-arm man—(also: strong arm) a man employed as a bodyguard:
- At one local union meeting, backed up by his strong-arm men, he boldly declared: “I do not give a damn whether you vote for me or not.”