Talk:ride herd on

1. Question: This seems pretty rare, but a books.google.com search shows quite a few instances. Interesting that this is pejorative to the transitive object. Is ride hard on an equivalent idiom? That is, is this a rural US idiom vs. an urban US idiom? Until now, I've only heard "ride hard on", but that seems to be sum-of-parts, not idiomatic. --Connel MacKenzie 22:20, 26 December 2006 (UTC)
2. Question: Also, I've only heard "ride hard on someone" where the transitive object is singular. Is it perhaps a plural agreement thing, to use "herd"? Or is this actually a very old idiom that for some reason is rarely used in urban settings? --Connel MacKenzie 22:26, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

I frankly have no idea. All I know is I've come across it quite a few times, mostly in the New York Times and a few hours ago in "Rabbit is Rich" by John Updike...Perhaps you could illustrate your questions with examples/sentences...I would imagine that "ride hArd on" is an error stemming from "ride herd on", but I am not sure...zigzig20s 22:49, 26 December 2006 (UTC)