yank at (someone or something)
1. To pull, tug, or jerk someone or something vigorously or repeatedly. Yes, we can go see the lion enclosure now, so stop yanking at me like that! No matter how hard I yanked at the bike, I couldn't free it from the mud.
2. To demand or require someone's attention, especially urgently or incessantly. It can be easy to become overwhelmed when you've got a dozen different things yanking at you in different directions, so we've created a software suite to help get your business life back in order. The guilt of not seeing my parents in so long keeps yanking at me to book a flight home, but I just can't afford to spend that much money on a ticket.
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