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View synonyms for pull strings
pull strings
- To use personal connections to obtain a position: “Pat was officially interviewed for the job, but he also had his uncle pulling strings behind the scenes.” This phrase makes reference to the operation of string-controlled puppets, or marionettes.
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Idioms and Phrases
Also, pull wires . Use one's influence, as in By pulling strings he got us house seats to the opening , or His father pulled some wires and got him out of jail . Both terms allude to manipulating a marionette. The first dates from the second half of the 1800s, the second from the early 1800s.Advertisement
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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