ramrod (n.) Look up ramrod at Dictionary.com
1757, literally "a rod used in ramming" (the charge of a gun), from ram (v.) + rod. Used figuratively for straightness or stiffness from 1939, also figuratively for formality, primness (ramroddy is in "Century Dictionary" 1902)). The verb is 1948, from the noun. Related: Ramrodded; ramrodding.