cling like a leech

To engage with someone in a parasitic, clinging manner. (A leech is a type of worm that latches on to other animals to feed on their blood.) Her younger brother clings like a leech, always hanging around us and asking for money. That one friend of yours sure clings like a leech. Did you pay for his entire night out? You need to get a job and stop clinging like a leech to Mom and Dad!

cling on (to someone or something)

1. Literally, to hold on (to someone or something) very tightly. The little girl clung on to her dad's legs and cried as he tried to leave for work. I just kept clinging on and praying that a search party would find me dangling from the side of the rock. I clung on to the dog's leash as he practically dragged me down the street!

2. To remain devoted to or entrenched in something, especially in a stubborn or desperate manner. In this ever-changing world, you can't just stubbornly cling on to your old beliefs. I really hate my job, but if I can just cling on for a little while longer, I'll have enough money saved up to change careers. If that corporate bigwig is still clinging on to the notion that he is immune from prosecution, he's in for a rude awakening!

3. To remain in close, persistent contact with someone, especially in a desperate, helpless, or emotionally overdependent manner. I wish my younger brother would stop clinging on like that whenever I go out with my friends. He's starting to really embarrass me. That brownnosing little twerp just clings on to the boss all day long, agreeing with whatever he says. A: "Well, the new girl's really been clinging on to you, huh?" B: "I know, and it's driving me crazy. I just want an afternoon to myself!"

cling on by (one's) fingernails

1. Literally, to grasp something, such as a cliff, with one's fingernails to avoid falling. The stranded hiker was clinging on by her fingernails until the rescue crew arrived. I had to cling on by my fingernails until the fireman told me to jump. I was clinging on by my fingernails when the search party finally found me dangling from the side of the rock.

2. By extension, to narrowly avoid problems or failure. They're clinging on by their fingernails out there—the other team's offensive is totally overwhelming them. Now that I have three small children to care for, I feel as if I'm clinging on by my fingernails every day. Once news of this scandal breaks, the PR team will be clinging on by their fingernails with the press.

cling on by (one's) fingertips

1. Literally, to grasp something, such as a cliff, with one's fingertips to avoid falling. The stranded hiker was clinging on by her fingertips until the rescue crew arrived. I had to cling on by my fingertips until the fireman told me to jump. I was clinging on by my fingertips when the search party finally found me dangling from the side of the rock.

2. By extension, to narrowly avoid problems or failure. They're clinging on by their fingertips out there—the other team's offensive is totally overwhelming them. Now that I have three small children to care for, I feel as if I'm clinging on by my fingertips every day. Once news of this scandal breaks, the PR team will be clinging on by their fingertips with the press.

cling to (one's) beliefs

To remain devoted to or entrenched in one's convictions, principles, or opinions, especially in a desperate or obtuse manner. In this ever-changing world, you can't just stubbornly cling to your old beliefs. You have to be flexible and able to adapt, or you're going to get left behind by the younger generations. If that corporate bigwig is still clinging to his beliefs that he is immune from prosecution, he's in for a rude awakening! When have you ever known Uncle Ned to change? That man will cling to his beliefs until the end of time.

cling to (someone or something)

1. Literally, to hold on to someone or something tightly. The little girl clung to her dad's legs and cried as he tried to leave for work. I clung to the side of the rock and prayed that a search party would find me. I clung to the dog's leash as he practically dragged me down the street!

2. By extension, to remain devoted to or entrenched in something, often a belief or opinion. In this ever-changing world, you can't just stubbornly cling to your old beliefs. If that corporate bigwig is still clinging to the notion that he is immune from prosecution, he's in for a rude awakening! When have you ever known Uncle Ned to change? That man will cling to his beliefs until the end of time.

cling to a shred of hope

To have the slightest bit of hope (that something is or may be the case). The police had not discovered any sign of a body yet, so I still clung to a shred of hope that my wife would be found alive. The judge's decision to let us appeal the case left us clinging to a shred of hope that we might finally receive justice for what happened. I know this has been an exhausting, arduous process, but we must cling to a shred of hope that things will work out in our favor!

cling to the/(one's) belief that (something is the case)

To remain devoted to or entrenched in one's conviction or opinion that something is true, especially in a desperate or obtuse manner. A shocking amount of people still cling to the belief that the Earth is flat. That corporate bigwig is still clinging to his belief that he is immune from prosecution. I know this has been an exhausting, arduous process, but we must cling to the belief that things will work out in our favor!

cling together

1. Of two or more things, to adhere to one another. The pages in this book are so thin that they usually cling together. Don't you use dryer sheets? Static will make all of your clothes cling together. Ugh, the kids stacked up their notebooks, and spiral binding has clung together.

2. Of two or more people, to hold each other tightly. The wind was so strong that we had to cling together just to cross the parking lot! What could we do besides cling together and pray as waves crashed down on our boat? The newlyweds clung together as they swayed on the dance floor.

clinging vine

A person, typically a woman, whose relationship with someone or others is characterized by emotional overdependence or helplessness. I was at first attracted to her intrepid sense of adventure, but when we began dating, it became obvious she was a bit of a clinging vine emotionally. Wow, Hailey's such an independent woman these days. Back when we dated, she was more of a clinging vine. I refuse to be a clinging vine just because I'm in a relationship now. I'm determined to maintain my own life separate from him.

hang on by (one's) fingernails

1. Literally, to grasp something, such as a cliff, with one's fingernails to avoid falling. The stranded hiker was hanging on by her fingernails until the rescue crew arrived. I had to hang on by my fingernails until the fireman told me to jump. I was hanging on by my fingernails when the search party finally found me dangling from the side of the rock face.

2. By extension, to narrowly avoid problems or failure. They're hanging on by their fingernails out there—the other team's offensive is totally overwhelming them. Now that I have three small children to care for, I feel as if I'm hanging on by my fingernails every day. Once news of this scandal breaks, the PR team will be hanging on by their fingernails with the press.

hang on by (one's) fingertips

1. Literally, to grasp something, such as a cliff, with one's fingertips to avoid falling. The stranded hiker was hanging on by her fingertips until the rescue crew arrived. I had to hang on by my fingertips until the fireman told me to jump. I was hanging on by my fingertips when the search party finally found me dangling from the side of the rock face.

2. By extension, to narrowly avoid problems or failure. They're hanging on by their fingertips out there—the other team's offensive is totally overwhelming them. Now that I have three small children to care for, I feel as if I'm hanging on by my fingertips every day. Once news of this scandal breaks, the PR team will be hanging on by their fingertips with the press.

cling to someone or something

1. Lit. to hold on tight to someone or something. The child clung tightly to his mother. As she drifted in the sea, she clung to a floating log.

2. Fig. to hold onto the thought or memory of someone or something; to have a strong emotional attachment to or dependence on someone or something. Her immigrant parents clung to the old ways. Harold clung to the memory of his grandmother.

cling together

[for two or more people or animals] to hold on tightly to each other. The two children clung together throughout the ordeal. The baby baboon and its mother clung together and could not be separated.

clinging vine

An overly dependent person, as in A clinging vine since her marriage, she's never made a decision on her own. Nearly always applied to a woman (or wife), this metaphor for a climbing plant today criticizes dependency rather than, as in former times, praising the vine's fruitfulness.

clinging vine

An extremely dependent person. Today this term is mildly pejorative—such a person is not considered particularly admirable—but earlier uses of this figure of speech carry no such criticism. Indeed, the vine in question, nearly always a woman or wife, was also praised for potential or actual fruitfulness (i.e., childbearing ability). “Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house,” says the Book of Psalms (128:3).

grasp at straws, to

To make a hopeless effort to save oneself. The term comes from the ancient image of a drowning man clutching at insubstantial reeds in an attempt to save himself, and it often was put as to catch or clutch at straws. It appeared in print as early as the sixteenth century and soon was regarded as a proverb. Indeed, Samuel Richardson so identifies it in Clarissa (1748): “A drowning man will catch at a straw, the proverb well says.” An earlier usage is “We do not as men redie to be drowned, catch at euery straw” (John Prime, Fruitful and Brief Discourse, 1583).