to wrap around one's little finger
3
8.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
tener a alguien en la palma de la mano
Examples
-
That girl has got me wrapped around her little finger.
-
It's amazing how quickly she's managed to get all of us wrapped around her little finger.
Blog text (24) -
well by then Thalia had the first mate wrapped around her little finger
-
He's so charming that he has everyone wrapped around their little finger.
-
The persuasive salesman seemed to have the customers wrapped around his little finger.
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With her sweet smile, she could easily wrap her friends around her little finger.
Synonyms
3
9.9
To have complete power over someone by controlling what they need or fear
3
7.7
Make someone do what you want without them noticing
To trick someone easily so you can get what you want
Antonyms
How Controlled
275
3.7
- Informal
3
8.1
382
6.1
806
2.3
472
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
wrap + around + one's + little + finger
The phrase evokes the literal image of winding something around someone's finger, so there is a visible conceptual link between the parts and the idea of influence, but the specific pragmatic meaning—having complete control or being able to make someone do whatever one wants—is an idiomatic extension that is not directly derivable from the constituent words alone. While similar metaphors exist in some languages, the particular nuance and pragmatic usage usually require prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Wrap around one's little finger comes from the image of winding a thin cord or ribbon to wrap around someone's little finger, so the person is held and guided easily. That's why it now means 'to have complete control over someone'.