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under someone's thumb
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]Example Sentences
And she transforms it into this journey of self-discovery of Priscilla Presley going from being a young girl sort of under someoneās thumb to becoming a woman of her own sort of power and abilities.
"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."
āNot only was it disruptive, but it was embarrassing for her to be so viscerally reminded that she is under someoneās thumb. That was jarring.ā
Heās always under someoneās thumb, indebted in ways he canāt begin to understand.
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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