drive/strike a hard bargain
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdrive/strike a hard bargaindrive/strike a hard bargainto demand a lot or refuse to give too much when you are making an agreement The company is believed to have struck a hard bargain. hardExamples from the Corpusdrive/strike a hard bargain Don't become despondent just because it seems that your employer is keen to drive a hard bargain. It could also be that Reilly, who has never knowingly sold himself short, is driving a hard bargain. So he was right to drive a hard bargain. The farmer had grown used to billeting troops and drove a hard bargain.