Chinese finger trap

American  

noun

1. a child's toy, consisting of a small cylinder of woven straw or paper into which the forefingers are placed, one in each end: the harder one pulls, the more securely the fingers are held.

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Example Sentences

Among the many brilliant touches in the dystopian workplace thriller “Severance,” on Apple TV+, are the perks offered by Lumon Industries, the cultlike, fluorescent-lit corporation where the series takes place: company-branded Chinese finger trap gag toys; cheery if mediocre caricature portraits; a baffling “waffle party”; the much-discussed “music dance experience”; and, more than once, a melon-ball buffet served on a rolling bar.

From New York Times

Three Daughters: Unfortunately, trying to rescue someone from the heartbreak of a toxic relationship most often results in a dynamic that reminds me of the old “Chinese finger trap” puzzle: the harder you pull, the harder they cling to the relationship.

From Washington Post

Gen. Michael Flynn have put former Vice President Joe Biden into a "political Chinese finger trap" as he seeks to win the White House in November.

From Fox News

Maddie and Cleo are from different worlds, but their struggle for independence during a time of barriers to women — racism for Cleo and sexism for Maddie — bind them in a Chinese finger trap that tugs tighter as they assert themselves and love who they want.

From Washington Post

But although both of these complimentary-but-inverse options fit together beautifully, they’re internally inconsistent, forming a sort of Chinese finger trap of logic, difficult and awkward to extract oneself from without extraordinary mental flexibility.

From Slate