wrap around one's little finger

English

Alternate forms

Etymology

From the sport of falconry, namely its practice of tethering a falcon's ankle to the falconer's fifth digit.[1]

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Verb

wrap around one's little finger (third-person singular simple present wraps around one's little finger, present participle wrapping around one's little finger, simple past and past participle wrapped around one's little finger)

  1. (transitive, idiomatic) To successfully control or exert influence over, especially for a sustained period of time.
    He has all of them wrapped around his little finger. They'd do anything for him.

Usage notes

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See also

References

  1. Evans, Andrew (17 January 2019), “How falconry changed the language”, in BBC Travel, BBC, retrieved 4 August 2019
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