string (redirected from Cosmic strings)

another string to your bow (British & Australian)

an extra skill or qualification which you can use if you cannot use your main one. If you can teach English as well as yoga, it's another string to your bow.

See also: another, bow

be tied to your mother's apron strings

if someone, usually a man, is tied to their mother's apron strings, they still need their mother and cannot think or act independently. He's 30 but he's still tied to his mother's apron strings.

See also: tie

the first string (American, informal)

the group of people who are regularly chosen to play in the best sports team, or to do the most important work in a job. He didn't make first string on the football team until his senior year at college.

See also: first

first-string (American, informal)

the first string - the group of people who are regularly chosen to play in the best sports team, or to do the most important work in a job. She's a first-string reporter on the paper.

have [a lot of/a few/several etc.] strings to your bow (British & Australian)

another string to your bow - an extra skill or qualification which you can use if you cannot use your main one. She's a trained counsellor and she does pottery classes in the evenings - she has several strings to her bow.

See also: bow, few, lot, several

have someone on a string

to completely control someone's behaviour. She can get him to do anything she wants - she's got him on a string.

hold the purse strings

to control the spending of a family's or an organization's money. In our house it was my mother who held the purse strings.

See also: hold, purse

How long is a piece of string? (British & Australian)

something that you say when someone asks you a question that you cannot answer about how big something is or how much time something will take. 'So how long does a project like that take?' 'How long's a piece of string?'

See also: how, long, piece

loosen the purse strings

to allow more money to be spent. We shouldn't expect the Chancellor to loosen the purse strings too much in the Budget.

See also: loosen, purse

no strings (attached)

if there are no strings attached to an offer or arrangement, there is nothing that is unpleasant or not convenient that you have to accept in order to get the advantage from the offer. It's very rare that you get a loan that size with no strings attached. The donation has no strings attached, so the charity is free to use it for whatever purpose it chooses.

pull strings

to secretly use the influence that you have over important people in order to get something or to help someone. I may be able to pull a few strings for you if you need the document urgently.

See also: pull

pull the strings

to be in control of an organization, often secretly. I'd really like to know who's pulling the strings in that organization, because it's not the elected committee.

See also: pull

tighten the purse strings

to reduce the amount of money that can be spent. If the economy gets any weaker, it will be necessary for the government to tighten the national purse strings still further.

See also: purse, tighten

with strings (attached)

no strings (attached) - if there are no strings attached to an offer or arrangement, there is nothing that is unpleasant or not convenient that you have to accept in order to get the advantage from the offer. Most of their so-called 'special offers' come with strings attached, so beware.

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no strings attached

no special demands or limits that you have to accept. The donation has no strings attached, so the charity can use the money for whatever purpose it chooses.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the form with string attached with special demands or limits: Many special offers come with strings attached, so be aware of this before you buy.Hardly ever occurs w/o "attached"; I see no reason to bracket it--SL, 2/03

See also: attached

pull strings

to use your influence over important people in order to get something or to help someone. I may be able to pull a few strings for you if you need the document urgently.

See also: pull

pull the strings

to control the actions of a person or group, often secretly. I'd like to know who's pulling the strings in that organization, because it's not the elected committee. He wanted to make his own decision, with no one pulling his strings.

Etymology: based on a comparison with the movements of a marionette (= a small model of a person or animal moved by strings by attached to its body)

See also: pull

string out something

1. to be spread in a long, thin line. Most of Canada's population is strung out along its border with the United States. The early fast pace soon strung the field of runners out over more than a mile.

2. to make something continue. Zeb hoped he could string out his vacation as long as possible. The legal process could string this dispute out for years.