Decision & Control - Obedience

Discover how English idioms like "toe the line" and "come to heel" relate to obedience in English.

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English idioms related to Decision & Control

to dance to one's tune

[phrase]

to do things as desired or required by someone else

Ex: She never let anyone dance to her tune; she made her own decisions.

to have somebody by the balls

[phrase]

to have power and influence over someone

Ex: Don't give them that information; they'll have you by the balls.

like sheep

[phrase]

in a way that closely imitates what the others are doing in an unquestioning manner

Ex: They walked out like sheep because one person told them to.

{one's} (wish|word) [is] {one's} command

one's wish is one's command

[sentence]

used to demonstrate one's complete obedience

Ex: This is a partnership, not a place where your word is my command.

to [have] {sb} (in the palm|eating out) of {one's} hand

to have somebody in the palm of one's hand

[phrase]

to have someone under one's complete domination or control

Ex: With her charm, she had him eating out of the palm of her hand.

under one's thumb

[phrase]

completely under one's direct control

Ex: He wanted independent advisers, not people under his thumb.

to [wrap|twist|wind] {sb} around {one's} (little|) finger

to wrap somebody around one's (little) finger

[phrase]

to manage to convince someone to do whatever one asks of them out of love or respect that they have for one

Ex: Don't let him wind you around his finger just because you admire him.

at one's beck and call

[phrase]

at someone's complete service

Ex: He had his staff at his beck and call all day.

to come to heel

[phrase]

to accept to obey someone

Ex: They thought public pressure would make him come to heel.

to say the word

[phrase]

to order someone to do something for one

Ex: Just say the word and I will arrange everything.

to bring somebody to heel

[phrase]

to use force to make someone do as one says

Ex: The king used taxes and soldiers to bring the nobles to heel.

have somebody by the short hairs

[phrase]

to have complete control over another individual

Ex: He pretended to be independent, but his investors had him by the short hairs.

to toe the line

[phrase]

to unwillingly obey the rules and accept the ideas or principles of a specific group or person

Ex: In his company, everyone is expected to toe the line.

Decision & Control
Under Control	Out of Control	Losing Control	Being in Charge
Force & Obligation	Obedience	Choices & Decisions	Decisiveness
Indecisiveness	Dependency

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