purse (redirected from loosened the purse strings)

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, string

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, string

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: string, tighten

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. (old-fashioned)

something that you say which means you cannot make a good quality product using bad quality materials. To make chairs that'll last you need good strong pieces of wood. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

See also: can't, ear