hold someone's feet to the fire

Etymology
From the implied threat of physical harm by burning.

Verb

 * 1)  To maintain personal, social, political, or legal pressure on someone in order to induce them to comply with one's desires; to hold someone accountable for their actions.
 * 2) * 2005 Dec. 19, Julia Keller, "Today's journalists don't know Jack—but ought to" (obituary for Jack N. Anderson), Chicago Tribune (retrieved 17 Apr. 2009) :
 * He kept tabs on presidents, monitored members of Congress, held bureaucrats' feet to the fire.
 * 1) * 2005 Dec. 19, Julia Keller, "Today's journalists don't know Jack—but ought to" (obituary for Jack N. Anderson), Chicago Tribune (retrieved 17 Apr. 2009) :
 * He kept tabs on presidents, monitored members of Congress, held bureaucrats' feet to the fire.