51³Ō¹Ļ

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under someone's thumb



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Idioms and Phrases

Controlled or dominated by someone, as in He's been under his mother's thumb for years . The allusion in this metaphoric idiom is unclear, that is, why a thumb rather than a fist or some other anatomic part should symbolize control. [Mid-1700s]
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And she transforms it into this journey of self-discovery of Priscilla Presley going from being a young girl sort of under someoneā€™s thumb to becoming a woman of her own sort of power and abilities.

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"I want them to get the punishment that they deserve, because to be under someone's thumb, to do the things they want you to do for them... They steal your freedom - they use you, rule you - I don't know, it's very degrading."

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ā€œNot only was it disruptive, but it was embarrassing for her to be so viscerally reminded that she is under someoneā€™s thumb. That was jarring.ā€

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Heā€™s always under someoneā€™s thumb, indebted in ways he canā€™t begin to understand.

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The right's culture wars have generally been based on stirring up people's fear of others, and a fear of losing control over people who have long been under someone's thumb.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Ā© Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American HeritageĀ® Idioms Dictionary copyright Ā© 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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