purse string

purse string (plural purse strings)

1. Alternative form of pursestring.
   • 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 6:

     Mrs. Cavendish, however, was a lady who liked to make her own plans, and expected other people to fall in with them, and in this case she certainly had the whip hand, namely: the purse strings.

   • 2020 April 22, Philip Haigh, “Labour's blueprint for the future of Britain's railways”, in Rail, page 29:

     "However, this does not mean the government should be involved in operational decisions, take responsibility for the punctuality of specific services, promote ministers' pet infrastructure projects, or clutch the purse strings so tightly that the railway's financial relationship with government forces it to operate on a short-term hand-to-mouth basis."

• hold the purse strings
• loosen the purse strings
• tighten the purse strings

• “purse string”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• superstring