a stark interior.
a stern disciplinarian.
a stern face.
an austere expression.
an exacting instructor.
are you going to sit on your fanny and do nothing?.
grim determination.
grim necessity.
he deserves a good kick in the butt.
relentless persecution.
Russia's final hour, it seemed, approached with inexorable certainty.
strict standards.
the stern demands of parenthood.