Iron, when used

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

ically, refers to certain traits of the

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

. Used as an

adjective In linguistics, an adjective ( abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the ...

and sometimes as a

noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Organism, Living creatures (including people ...

, it refers to something stern, harsh, strong, unyielding, inflexible, rigid, sturdy, strong, robust, hard.''

Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary'' is a large American dictionary, first published in 1966 as ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: The Unabridged Edition''. Edited by Editor-in-chief Jess Stein, it contained 315, ...

List of iron metaphors

Persons and characters

Iron Duke (disambiguation) Iron Duke may refer to: People * William Mark Duke (1879–1971), Archbishop of Vancouver * Irvin Khoza (born 1948), South African football administrator * John F. Thompson (politician) (1920–1965), U.S. politician * Fernando Álvarez de Toledo ...

* Iron Felix (disambiguation) *

Iron Lady (disambiguation) " Iron Lady" is a nickname of Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013), the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom. Iron Lady may also refer to: Film and television *'' The Iron Ladies'', a 2008 Thai film * ''The Iron Lady'' (film), a 2011 bio ...

Iron Man (disambiguation) Iron Man, Ironman or Ironmen may refer to: *Nathaniel "Iron Man" Avery (1939–1985), American caddie for Arnold Palmer *Travis Fulton (1977–2021), American mixed martial arts fighter *Gunnar Graps (1951–2004), Estonian musician *Mick Murphy ...

* Iron Mike (disambiguation) *

Princess Iron Fan (disambiguation) Princess Iron Fan is a fictional character from the Chinese classic novel ''Journey to the West''. Princess Iron Fan may also refer to: * ''Princess Iron Fan'' (1941 film), an animated film * ''Princess Iron Fan'' (1966 film), a live action f ...

* Otto von Bismarck, known as the

Iron Chancellor Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

* ''

Iron Chef is a Japanese television cooking show produced by Fuji Television. The series, which premiered on October 10, 1993, was a stylized cook-off featuring guest chefs challenging one of the show's resident "Iron Chefs" in a timed cooking battle bu ...

'', a Japanese cooking show * , known as Iron Eye *

Iron Eyes Cody Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti, April 3, 1904 – January 4, 1999) was an American actor of Italian descent who portrayed Native Americans in Hollywood films, famously as ''Chief Iron Eyes'' in Bob Hope's '' The Paleface'' (1948). ...

, Sicilian-American actor * The Iron Heinrich, a rough translation of the German fairy tale The Frog Prince * Iron Heroes, a variant book of rules for the game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' *

Iron John "Iron John" (AKA "Iron Hans" or "Der Eisenhans") is a German fairy tale found in the collections of the Brothers Grimm, tale number 136, about a wild iron-skinned man and a prince. The original German title is ''Eisenhans'', a compound of ''Eis ...

, a German fairy tale * Eon Kid, English title of the TV series '' Iron Kid'' *

Iron Lad Iron Lad (Nathaniel "Nate" Richards) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is an adolescent version of Kang the Conqueror, armed with a bio-metal suit that responds to mental comm ...

, a fictional superhero *

Iron Maniac Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

, an evil alternative universe character of fictional Marvel superhero

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

* Iron Munro, a fictional superhero * Persephone, known as the Iron Queen * Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, known as the

Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and ac ...

* Iron Shell, Brule Sioux chief *

Iron Tail Iron Tail (Oglala Lakota: Siŋté Máza in Standard Lakota Orthography; 1842 – May 29, 1916) was an Oglala Lakota Chief and a star performer with Buffalo Bill's Wild West. Iron Tail was one of the most famous Native American celebrities of the ...

, Oglala Sioux warrior * Tigran Petrosian, known as Iron Tigran *

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

as a name, meaning ''

'' in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...

, widespread in

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...

since the days of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe ...

Hadid Hadid ( he, חָדִיד) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Modi'in, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of . History According to the Mishnah, the town of Hadid was encompassed ...

is an Arabic name (both given and surname) literally meaning "iron"

Animals and plants

* Iron Bird (disambiguation) * Iron Butterfly (disambiguation) * Iron Dragon (disambiguation) * Iron Eagle (disambiguation) * Iron Monkey (disambiguation) *

Iron Wolf (disambiguation) Iron Wolf or Ironwolf may refer to: * Iron Wolf (roller coaster), a former roller coaster at Six Flags Great America * ''Ironwolf'', an album by George Canyon * Ironwolf, a DC Comics character * Iron Wolf (character), a character in the medieval f ...

* Iron horse (disambiguation) * Iron wood (disambiguation) * ''Ferrocalamus'' ( iron bamboo) * Iron cobra, a "construct" in the game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' *

Iron condor The iron condor is an options trading strategy utilizing two vertical spreads – a put spread and a call spread with the same expiration and four different strikes. A long iron condor is essentially selling both sides of the underlying instrume ...

, an option trading strategy utilizing two vertical spreads * Iron Kong, a fictional character from the science fiction media franchise

Zoids , or simply , is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Tomy that feature giant robots (or "mecha") called "Zoids". A Zoid is essentially a large mechanical animal, with designs being based on animals; including dinosaurs, insect ...

Body parts

Iron Fist (disambiguation) Iron Fist, Iron fist or Ironfist may refer to: Military * Iron Fist (exercise), an Indian Air Force exercise held in 2013 and 2016 * Iron Fist (countermeasure), an Israeli counter-weapon system * 20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom) or The Iro ...

* Iron Hand (disambiguation) * Iron Hands (disambiguation) * Iron lung (disambiguation) * See

Joseph LaFlesche Joseph LaFlesche, also known as ''E-sta-mah-za'' or Iron Eye (1822–1888), was the last recognized head chief of the Omaha tribe of Native Americans who was selected according to the traditional tribal rituals. The head chief Big Elk had adopte ...

* ''

The Iron Heel ''The Iron Heel'' is a political novel in the form of science fiction by American writer Jack London, first published in 1908.Kershaw, Alex. ''Jack London: A Life''. London: HarperCollins, 1997: 164. Background The main premise of the book i ...

'', a 1908 dystopian novel *

Iron Palm Iron Palm or Iron Hand (Chinese: 鐵掌功) is a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts. It is originally one of the 72 arts of the Shaolin temple. These conditioning techniques are typically meant to condition the hands ...

, a body of training techniques in various Chinese martial arts

Geography

* Iron City (disambiguation) *

Iron Mountain (disambiguation) Iron Mountain may refer to: Places Czech Republic Ranges * Iron Mountains (Czech Republic) / Železné hory, a mountain ridge in Chrudim District in the middle of Czech Republic United States Communities * Iron Mountain, Michigan, a city * Iro ...

Iron River (disambiguation) Iron River may refer to: Communities ;United States * Iron River Township, Michigan ** Iron River, Michigan, a city in the township * Iron River, Wisconsin, a town ** Iron River (CDP), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community and census-designated ...

Iron Range The term Iron Range refers collectively or individually to a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by ...

, regions around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada

Other iron metaphors

* Iron Bird (disambiguation) *

Iron Curtain (disambiguation) The Iron Curtain was the boundary dividing Europe in the Cold War. Iron Curtain may also refer to: * Safety curtain, in theatres * Iron Curtain (countermeasure), an active protection system *Iron Curtain (football), the defensive line of Rangers F ...

Iron Maiden (disambiguation) Iron Maiden are a British heavy metal band. Iron Maiden may also refer to: * Iron maiden, a torture device Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Iron Maiden (comics), a fictional Russian super villain from Marvel Comics * Iron M ...

* Iron Triangle (disambiguation) * Unguided bomb, known as an

iron bomb An unguided bomb, also known as a free-fall bomb, gravity bomb, dumb bomb, or iron bomb, is a conventional or nuclear aircraft-delivered bomb that does not contain a guidance system and hence simply follows a ballistic trajectory. This describe ...

Iron Brigade The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought ent ...

, a Civil War brigade *

Iron cage In sociology, the iron cage is a concept introduced by Max Weber to describe the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on tel ...

, a sociology term * Iron Fire, a Danish power and speed metal band *

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strong ...

, a historical far-right movement in Romania *

Iron harvest The iron harvest () is the annual collection of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, shrapnel, bullets and congruent trench supports collected by Belgian and French farmers after ploughing their fields. The harvest generally consists of material fr ...

, an annual "harvest" collected by Belgian and French farmers after ploughing their fields * '' Iron Helix'', a 1993 video game * '' Iron Seed'', a 1994 DOS video game *

Iron shirt Iron Shirt (; Cantonese: tit1 saam3) is a form of hard style martial art exercise believed to help protect 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 belief that ...

, a form of hard style martial art exercise * ''

Iron Sunrise ''Iron Sunrise'' is a 2004 hard science fiction novel by British writer Charles Stross, which follows the events in '' Singularity Sky''. The book was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 2005. ''Singularity Sky'' depicts a future ...

'', a 2004 hard science fiction novel * ''

Iron Will ''Iron Will'' is a 1994 American adventure film. It is based on the true story of a 1917 dog-sled race from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Saint Paul, Minnesota, a 522-mile-long stretch and part of the "Red River-St. Paul Sports Carnival Derby." It is d ...

'', a 1994 film

Gallery

Image:Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.png, The Iron Duke Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1990-023-06A, Otto von Bismarck.jpg,

The Iron Chancellor Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

Image:Margaret Thatcher stock portrait (cropped).jpg,

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

, the ''Iron Lady'' Image:2.5l tech 4 engine.jpg , An

Iron Duke engine The Iron Duke engine (also called 151, 2500, Pontiac 2.5, and Tech IV) is a Straight-4 piston engine built by the Pontiac Motor Division of General Motors from 1977 to 1993. Thereafter GM's 2.2 L OHV 4-cylinder replaced it across the ent ...

Image:Poumon_artificiel.jpg , An

iron lung An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator (NPV), a mechanical respirator which encloses most of a person's body, and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space, to stimulate breathing.Shneerson, Dr. John M., Newmarket General ...

Image:Z800 2066 JKU.jpeg , Big iron, an IBM z800 2066 mainframe Image:Python-nickel.jpg , "Big Iron" or

Colt Python The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48. It ...

Image:Map_of_Minnesota_highlighting_Iron_Range.png ,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

Image:Point Alpha Ostseite.jpg , The

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

in modern-day

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...