purse strings
purse strings — 慣用語
1. the power to decide how the money belonging to a family, company, or group will
財務掌控權
決定家庭、公司或團體錢怎麼花的權力
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.
在 Okafor 家裡，掌握財務大權的是 Esme 奶奶。
collocation: hold the purse strings = control spending
The new finance director now controls the purse strings for every department.
新任財務長現在掌控著每個部門的花費。
collocation: control the purse strings
After a strong sales year, the board agreed to loosen the purse strings a little.
在銷售強勁的一年之後，董事會同意稍微放寬支出。
When the factory lost a big order, Rohan quickly tightened the purse strings.
工廠失去一張大訂單時，Rohan 迅速縮緊了開支。
Voters wanted to know which party would really hold the purse strings after the election.
選民想知道選後到底是哪個政黨真正掌握財政大權。
- 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.