Iron, when used metaphorically, refers to certain traits of the metal

Metal

A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...

 iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

. Used as an adjective

Adjective

In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....

 and sometimes as a noun

Noun

In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...

, it refers to something stern, harsh, unyielding, inflexible, rigid, sturdy, strong, robust. It is sometimes used for something technological (iron lung) or not technologically advanced (iron bomb).

List of iron metaphors

This list is categorized superficially, rather than by the actual meanings of the expressions, to stress the metaphorical usage.

Persons and characters

• The name Timur
  Timur
  Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
  
  , meaning iron
  Iron
  Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
  
  in Turkic languages
  Turkic languages
  The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
  
  , has been a widespread name in Western and Central Asia
  Central Asia
  Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
  
   since the days of the Mongol Empire
  Mongol Empire
  The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
  
  .
• Iron Lady
  Iron Lady
  Iron Lady is a nickname that has frequently been used to describe female heads of government around the world. The term describes a "strong willed" woman...
  
  
• Iron Queen
• Iron Chancellor
• Iron Duke
• Iron Felix
• Iron Man
  Iron Man
  Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
  
  
• Iron John
  Iron John
  "Iron John" is a German fairy tale found in the collections of the Brothers Grimm, tale number 136, about a wild man and a prince...
  
  
• Iron Mike
  Iron Mike (disambiguation)
  Iron Mike is a name used for memorial statues of American servicemen.Iron Mike may also refer to these people:*Mike Tyson, boxer*Mike Zambidis, Greek kickboxer*Ernest L. Massad, U.S. Army general*John W. O'Daniel, U.S...
  
  
• Iron Sheik
• Iron Heroes
  Iron Heroes
  Iron Heroes is a variant Player's Handbook for the d20 System of role-playing games, in the tradition of Arcana Unearthed...
  
  
• Iron Eyes Cody
  Iron Eyes Cody
  Iron Eyes Cody was an American actor. He frequently portrayed American Indians in Hollywood films. In 1995, Cody was honored by the American Indian community for his work publicizing the plight of Native Americans, including his acting in films...
  
  , an actor.
• Iron Shell
  Iron Shell
  Iron Shell was a Brulé Sioux chief. He initially became prominent after an 1843 raid on the Pawnee, and became sub-chief of the Brulé under Little Thunder. He became chief of the Brulé Orphan Band during the Powder River War of 1866-1868. He signed the Treaty of 1868, and lived the remainder of...
  
  , a Brule Sioux chief.
• Iron Tail
  Iron Tail
  Iron Tail was an Oglala Sioux who fought alongside Sitting Bull at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He also performed with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show during the 1890s and with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West show from 1913 to 1916. He died of pneumonia on May 28, 1916 while traveling...
  
  , an Oglala Sioux warrior.
• Iron Eye, an Omaha chief
• Iron Kid
  Iron Kid
  Eon Kid is the English title of a South Korean-Spanish CGI animated television series Iron Kid produced by Daewon Media and Design Storm in South Korea, and BRB Internacional in Spain...
  
  
• Iron Lad
  Iron Lad
  Iron Lad is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular Young Avengers, a team of which Iron Lad is a member. He first appeared in Young Avengers #1 , created by writer Allan Heinberg and illustrator Jim Cheung...
  
  
• Iron Fan Princess
• Iron Maniac
• Iron Chef
  Iron Chef
  is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1992, is a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle built around a specific theme ingredient. The series ended...
  
  
• Iron Tail
  Iron Tail
  Iron Tail was an Oglala Sioux who fought alongside Sitting Bull at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. He also performed with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show during the 1890s and with the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West show from 1913 to 1916. He died of pneumonia on May 28, 1916 while traveling...
  
  

Animals and plants

• Iron Monkey
• Iron Wolf
  Iron Wolf
  Apocalypse is a steel stand-up roller coaster currently under construction at Six Flags America in Prince George's County, Maryland. The ride made its debut in 1990 as Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America. It was the first roller coaster designed by Bolliger & Mabillard...
  
  
• Iron Bird
• Iron condor
  Iron condor
  The iron condor is an advanced option trading strategy utilising two vertical spreads – a put spread and a call spread with the same expiration and four different strikes. If the outer strikes are bought and the inner strikes sold a long iron condor is produced. The converse produces a short iron...
  
  
• Iron Eagle
  Iron Eagle
  Iron Eagle is a 1986 action film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Jason Gedrick and Louis Gossett, Jr. While it received mixed reviews, the film earned US$24,159,872 at the U.S. box office. Iron Eagle was followed by three sequels: Iron Eagle II, Aces: Iron Eagle III and Iron Eagle on the...
  
  
• Iron Butterfly
  Iron Butterfly
  Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
  
  
• Iron Dragon
• Iron cobra
  Iron cobra
  In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the iron cobra is a construct.-Publication history:The iron cobra first appeared in the first edition in the original Fiend Folio ....
  
  
• Iron Horse
  Iron horse
  An Iron horse is an iconic literary term originating in the early Victorian culture when horses still powered most machinery, excepting windmills and stationary steam engines, the term was common and popular in both British and North American literary articles.Iron Horse was used admiringly when...
  
  
• Iron Kong
• Iron bamboo
  Iron bamboo
  The iron bamboo is a species of mountain bamboo. The genus Ferrocalamus is monotypic. Endemic to China, the plant is known uniquely from Yunnan's southern areas, from 900 to 1,200 m above the sea level.-Taxonomy:...
  
  
• Ironwood
  Ironwood
  Ironwood is a common name for a large number of woods that have a reputation for hardness. Usage of the name may include the tree that yields this wood...
  
  

Body parts

• Iron Eye
• Iron Fist
  Iron Fist (disambiguation)
  In colloquial English, an "Iron Fist" refers to the authority exerted by a powerful, unforgiving governing figure, extended variously to public or private life, used to describe a person who operates under strictly authoritarian principles...
  
  
• Iron Hands
• Iron Heel
• Iron lung
  Iron lung
  A negative pressure ventilator is a form of medical ventilator that enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or the work of breathing exceeds the person's ability....
  
  
• Iron Palm
  Iron Palm
  Iron Palm or Iron Hand is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. These conditioning techniques are typically meant to condition the hands to allow a practitioner to deliver very powerful blows without injury to his or her hands.-Overview:Iron Palm is a broad term covering...
  
  

Geography

• Iron City
• Iron Mountain
• Iron Range
  Iron Range
  The Iron Range is a region that makes up the northeastern section of Minnesota in the United States. "The Range", as it is known by locals, is a region with multiple distinct bands of iron ore...
  
  
• Iron River

Other iron metaphors

• Iron bomb
• Iron Brigade
  Iron Brigade
  The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater, it was composed of regiments from Western states...
  
  
• Iron cage
  Iron cage
  Iron cage, a sociological concept introduced by Max Weber, refers to the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control...
  
  
• Iron Curtain
  Iron Curtain
  The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
  
  
• Iron Fire
  Iron Fire
  Iron Fire is a Danish power and speed metal band which was formed in 1995 under the name Misery. The name was soon changed to Decades Of Darkness and finally to Iron Fire.During their history, Iron Fire had a very unstable line-up...
  
  
• Iron Guard
  Iron Guard
  The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
  
  
• Iron harvest
  Iron harvest
  The iron harvest is the annual "harvest" of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, shrapnel balls, bullets and congruent trench supports collected by Belgian and French farmers after ploughing their fields...
  
  
• Iron Helix
  Iron Helix
  Iron Helix is the name of an adventure video game made for the Windows, Mac, and the Sega CD. It was an early example of a CD-based game, including video elements integrated with conventional 2D maps and controls...
  
  
• Iron Seed
  Iron Seed
  Iron Seed is a 1994 DOS computer game, developed and published by Channel 7. It is a real-time strategy, science fiction, space game.-Description:...
  
  
• Iron Shirt
  Iron Shirt
  Iron Shirt is a form of hard style martial art exercise for protecting the human body from impacts in a fight. This is one of the 72 arts of the Shaolin Temple. Some martial arts are based on the idea that a correctly trained body can withstand more damage than one that is untrained...
  
  
• Iron Sunrise
  Iron Sunrise
  Iron Sunrise is a 2004 hard science fiction novel by author Charles Stross, which follows the events in Singularity Sky. The book was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 2005....
  
  
• Iron Triangle
• Iron Will
  Iron Will
  Iron Will is a 1994 family adventure film directed by Charles Haid. The film stars Mackenzie Astin, Kevin Spacey, David Ogden Stiers, George Gerdes, Brian Cox, Penelope Windust, and August Schellenberg.-Plot:...
  
  

See also

• Iron (disambiguation)
  Iron (disambiguation)
  Iron is a metallic element.* For the use of iron as a material, see History of ferrous metallurgy.* For iron as a mineral, see Iron ore.Iron may also refer to: * Iron , used to remove wrinkles from fabric...
  
  
• Big Iron
  Big Iron
  "Big Iron" is a country ballad by Marty Robbins, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960....
  
  
• Wikipedia articles starting with the word "Iron"