Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

have someone by the short hairs

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English

Syllables: have -some-one by the short- hairs
IPA

48

Scrabble Score

26

Letters

4

Syllables

13

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To have someone in a difficult situation in which he or she is without alternatives and can be controlled.

Example Sentences

"Beginning with a curt “Listen, Buster,” she proceeded to sketch out with admirable clearness the salient points in the situation as she envisaged it, and judging from the loud buzzing noises that came over the wire, clearly audible to me though now standing in the background, it was evident that the nub was not escaping him. They were the buzzing noises of a man slowly coming to the realization that a woman's hand had got him by the short hairs."
"The Saudis know that as long as we consume 7 billion barrels per year (4 billion of them imported from abroad), they have us by the short hairs."

Inflected Forms

has someone by the short hairs (present, singular) having someone by the short hairs (participle, present) had someone by the short hairs (participle, past) had someone by the short hairs (past)

Phrases

have the world by the tail

Frequently Paired Words

have the world by the tail

Synonyms

have someone by the balls have someone by the short and curlies have someone on toast have someone over a barrel

Questions

What does have someone by the short hairs mean?: To have someone in a difficult situation in which he or she is without alternatives and can be controlled.

How to pronounce have someone by the short hairs

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