I found the phrase “have the steel” in the following sentence of Time magazine’s article (April 30) titled, “Why Obama Owns bin Laden.”
“Judging from the Republican response, President Obama's ad asking whether Mitt Romney would have ordered the raid that captured Osama bin Laden raises serious questions
There is a kind of biographical line running between those dusty sparring matches a world away and the ad the Obama re-election campaign has released on the question of whether Mitt Romney would have the steel to order the 2011 operation that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan.”
As I assumed “Mitt Romney would ‘have the steel’ to order the 2011 operation” means “Romney had the guts to order the raid,” I checked English dictionaries online to make it sure:
Cambridge English Dictionary registers “have nerves of steel, meaning ‘to be brave,’ but not “have the steel.”
OED registers “have the nerve to” and “get a nerve doing,” but not “have the steel.”
Merriam-Webster registers neither ‘have the steel’ nor “have nerves of steel.”
Is “have the steel” an idiom or common usage meaning “be brave” or “have the guts” as I guessed? Can I say “He had the steel to tell his boss ‘you’re wrong’?”
Best Answer
Based on the context of the article, it seems pretty clear that "have the steel" refers to having bravery, fortitude, resolve, and the ability to "not blink under pressure."
I would suggest that the term "have the steel" is not yet an established idiom (as your research indicates), but it may be one writer's shorthand for "have the steely resolve," as "steely resolve" is an idiom that has been has been growing steadily in popularity over the past 20 - 30 years. Perhaps this author thought it was time to shorten that phrase, lest it come across as trite.
To answer your last question, can you jump on board, and say, “He had the steel to tell his boss ‘you’re wrong’?” – I think you can. I can't imagine being confused by that wording. The word "steel" has been used often enough similar contexts (such as "nerves of steel"); I think it's clear what you mean, and the message is unambiguous.