drop the hammer

drop the hammer (third-person singular simple present drops the hammer, present participle dropping the hammer, simple past and past participle dropped the hammer)

1. (originally US, informal) To take action.
   • 2008 [2001], Toby Young, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Philadelphia, PA: Da Capo, →ISBN, page 76:

     Naturally, the Frat Boy and the Toadmeister decided to hold a contest to see who could “drop the hammer” with Pippi first.

• Jonathon Green (2024) “drop the hammer (on) v.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang