on a string

1. Under someone's control, as in She'll drop everything whenever Sam asks for something—he's got her on a string. This expression, alluding to pulling an animal on a leash, dates from the late 1500s, when it was put as in a string.

Example Sentences

At one point all of the magicians spontaneously do a show for one another, each of them taking part in a can-you-top-this series of illusions strung as close together as popcorn on a string.

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As Bert walks up, a monkey in a tree lowers a stick of dynamite on a string.

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Hometown fans wondered how the Grizzlies were staying so close when it felt like Doncic had the game on a string.

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Still, traders have been given some support by expectations the central bank will cut interest rates at least once more this year, though even that was based on a string of reports showing the US jobs market deteriorating.

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In many productions, Hamlet stalks the stage in a fog of misery, as if trailing a rain cloud above his head like a balloon on a string.

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Related Words

• attentive 
• compliant 
• deferential 
• devoted 
• docile 
• dutiful 
• faithful 
• law-abiding 
• loyal 
• respectful 
• subservient