cut the umbilical cord
To strike out on one's own from an overly involved or suffocating relationship, usually between a parent and child. I love my mom, I truly do, but she used to call me five times a day! I had to cut the umbilical cord! Geez Pete, you're 40 years old! It's time to cut the umbilical cord and stop living with your parents! I'm worried that my mother-in-law will never cut the umbilical cord. My husband's a grown man but still does every little thing she asks!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
cut the umbilical cord
or cut the cord
If you cut the umbilical cord or cut the cord, you start acting independently rather than continuing to rely on the person or thing that you have always relied on. Both nations are eager to cut the umbilical cord tying them to the federation in its current shape. Note: An unborn baby's umbilical cord is the tube connecting it to its mother, through which it receives oxygen and nutrients.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012