Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

eat out of someone's hand

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.23 in modern English

Syllables: eat out of -some-one's -hand
IPA

29

Scrabble Score

20

Letters

4

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To behave in a docile, submissive way towards someone.

Example Sentences

""And after all this," I remarked, "I suppose you were ready to eat out of his hand." "Don't be coarse, James. I don't know where you get these vulgar expressions from.""
"When a woman has her husband eating out of her hand, says Washout, you can bet she also has him eating out of cans."
"Jana Pittman, the new 400m hurdles world champion, had the media eating out of her hand in the aftermath of her victory."
"Violetta is well aware of all this and goes out of her way to charm him. . . . He eats out of her hand and would not notice if she fed him rocks."

Etymology

An allusion to the manner in which a tame animal can be fed.

Inflected Forms

eats out of someone's hand (present, singular) eating out of someone's hand (participle, present) ate out of someone's hand (past) eaten out of someone's hand (participle, past) eat from someone's hand (alternative)

Phrases

putty in someone's hands wrap around one's little finger

Frequently Paired Words

putty in someone's hands wrap around one's little finger

Questions

What does eat out of someone's hand mean?: To behave in a docile, submissive way towards someone.
Where does eat out of someone's hand come from?: An allusion to the manner in which a tame animal can be fed.

How to pronounce eat out of someone's hand

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