purse strings
purse strings — idiom
1. the power to decide how the money belonging to a family, company, or group will
the power to decide how the money belonging to a family, company, or group will be spent
In the Okafor household, it is Grandma Esme who holds the purse strings.
collocation: hold the purse strings = control spending
The new finance director now controls the purse strings for every department.
collocation: control the purse strings
After a strong sales year, the board agreed to loosen the purse strings a little.
When the factory lost a big order, Rohan quickly tightened the purse strings.
Voters wanted to know which party would really hold the purse strings after the election.
- the budget
plainer, names the money itself rather than the power over it
- the checkbook
informal American image for the same idea of who pays
文法句型
hold/control the purse strings
loosen/tighten the purse strings
用法筆記
Almost always used with hold, control, loosen, or tighten, and almost always plural. Whoever holds or controls the purse strings has the final say on spending; loosening them means allowing more spending, tightening them means allowing less.