twist (someone) around (one's) (little) finger
(redirected from twist around finger)twist
slang A girl or woman. From rhyming slang, in which "twist" is short for "twist and twirl," which rhymes with "girl." Tommy's spending all his time with his new twist. He never comes around to see us anymore.
twist (someone) around (one's) (little) finger
To gain complete control or dominance over someone; to make someone do whatever one wishes. The spoiled little brat has completely twisted his parents around his little finger. Everyone jealously accused her of twisting the boss around her finger.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
twist someone around one's little finger
and wind someone around one's little fingerFig. to manipulate and control someone. Bob really fell for Jane. She can twist him around her little finger. Billy's mother has wound him around her little finger. He's very dependent on her.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
twist around one's finger
Also, turn or wind or wrap around one's finger . Exert complete control over someone, do as one likes with someone, as in Alison could twist just about every man around her finger. This hyperbolic term dates from the mid-1800s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
twist someone around your little finger
orwrap someone around your little finger
If you can twist someone around your little finger or wrap them around your little finger, you can make them do anything you want them to. Anna may not be the brightest person in the world, but she knew exactly how to twist him around her little finger. A child who is spoilt is able to wrap her parents around her little finger. Note: People sometimes use wind instead of twist or wrap, and round instead of around. I didn't think there was a man in the world you were afraid of, Christabel, or one you couldn't wind round your finger.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
twist (or wind or wrap) someone around your little finger
have the ability to make someone do whatever you want.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
twist/wind/wrap somebody around/round your little ˈfinger
(informal) be able to persuade or influence somebody very easily, usually because they like you: I can twist my parents round my little finger.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
twist
and frail n. a girl; a woman. (Underworld. Possibly rhyming slang twist and twirl = girl and frail frame = dame. Detective novels and movies.) This good-looking twist comes over to the table and asks Lefty if he’d like to dance. I’ll shoot the frail if you don’t hand it over!
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
twist
/wrap around (one's) little finger To dominate utterly and effortlessly.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
twist/wind around one's little finger, to
To exert a strong influence or complete control (on or over someone). This hyperbole dates from the nineteenth century. J. L. Motley used it in Rise of the Dutch Republic (1855): “She had already turned that functionary around her finger.” A more violent twentieth-century locution is to twist someone’s arm, a form of none too gentle persuasion. However, it often is used jocularly, as in, “You twisted my arm,” meaning either “You talked me into it” or “I don’t need to be persuaded to do this; I’d do it anyway.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer