be putty in (one's) hands
To be easy to control or bend to one's wishes. (Putty is a very malleable material.) Oh, come on, Julia is putty in our hands—we can definitely get her to help us with this prank. My dad was pretty strict when we were growing up, but now that we're older, he's putty in our hands. Tom was always putty in his daughter's hands and would jump through hoops to make her happy.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.