leading strings
Americanplural noun
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strings for leading and supporting a child learning to walk.
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excessively restraining guidance.
His parents tried to keep him in leading strings, but he finally married and moved away.
Etymology
Origin of leading strings
First recorded in 1670–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Right or wrong, Britain is not responsible for it, and Mr. Wallace's picture of the United States in leading strings is quite fanciful.
From Time Magazine Archive
"I reckon I will have to put leading strings on both of you," replied Lawrence, with a smile.
From The Courier of the Ozarks by Byron A. (Byron Archibald) Dunn
Mother country has only to keep up the motherly relation, and patiently loosen the leading strings, according as her colonies grow able to run alone.'
From Cedar Creek From the Shanty to the Settlement by Elizabeth Hely Walshe
Another century elapsed before the muse of the Hebrew drama escaped from leading strings.
From Jewish Literature and Other Essays by Gustav Karpeles
Keep a people in leading strings, it is said, and the moment the strings break, or are worn out, the people will not know where to go.
From The Moors in Spain by Stanley Lane-Poole
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
