apron strings

American  

plural noun

1. the strings on an apron, used for securing it around one's person.

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idioms

1. tie to someone's apron strings, to make or be dependent on or dominated by someone.

   He has never married because he's tied to his mother's apron strings.

apron strings More Idioms  

1. see tied to someone's apron strings.

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Etymology

Origin of apron strings

First recorded in 1535–45

Example Sentences

Brunger, Cleary and Kavanaugh created a musical during the pandemic that sought to ride the apron strings of a beloved baking competition with global reach.

From Washington Post • Apr. 20, 2023

This cutting of the apron strings sometimes comes early: Certain seal moms spend as little as three days nursing their pups before ducking beneath the chilly ocean waves, never to return.

From New York Times • May 1, 2021

How do I manage my mother’s anxieties while disentangling myself from her apron strings?

From Slate • Dec. 2, 2019

Only in this frenzied ojyuken world could apron strings stir up such passion.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2018

This time as she came away, she absently untied and re-tied her apron strings, taking up what little slack her enormous waistline allowed.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger