keep someone on a short leash
Meaning: To keep someone under close control.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The new manager keeps his team on a short leash.”
Category: Animals
Origin: A dog on a short lead cannot wander. The figurative use is common from the 20th century; British English often says "a tight leash."
Equivalents in other languages
- German: bei der Stange halten — literally: to hold by the rod
More idioms — Animals
- rein someone in — To bring someone under control.
- smell a rat — To sense that something dishonest is going on.
- have a bee in one's bonnet — To be obsessed with one idea.
- when pigs fly — Never.
- not turn a hair — To show no reaction at all.
- two men and a dog — A very small crowd.
More English idioms
- not for all the tea in China — Under no circumstances.
- shut someone up — To force someone to stop talking.
- a pack of lies — A story that is entirely untrue.
- keep one's feet on the ground — To stay realistic and unaffected by success.
- be pocket change — To be a trivial amount of money for the person paying.
- become second nature — To become so familiar that one does it without thinking.
From our proverbs
- Say no ill of the year till it is passed. — Withhold judgment on circumstances until their full course concludes, as premature critic…
- Yorkshire fashion--every man pay his share. — Shared expenses divided equally among all parties, with no one shirking their portion.
- Help yourself and your friends will like you. — Self-reliance builds respect; those who solve their own problems attract genuine companio…