turn someone round one's finger

[ieasy]

Hi

"turn someone round one's finger" means to dominate somene. Right?

So if I want to say "you dominate him" can I say "you turn him around your finger"

Is it correct to say so??

[wellhouse]

Hi,
The phrase we use in the part of the UK I am from is 'to twist someone round your little finger' It is used as an expression of being able to get what you want from someone.
Example: I ask my husband for a new braclet and he thinks I don't need one. I would then talk him into buying it for me, he might say' you can twist me round your little finger'

Hope this helps

[wsemajb]

If someone is pretending to love or care for another just to gain their affection and thereby access to money/automobile/sex/social status/club membership/free lunch/etc., then he has them wrapped around his finger.
It is often said that someone is "using" someone else.
"She's just using him for his wealth" (she's pretending to care about him so that she can spend his money")
"She has him wrapped around her finger"




Yes, it does mean to dominate. But there is so much more to it than that.
Getting the basic meaning of an idiomatic expression is fine for translation, since you can often get the broader meaning of it from its context. But you have to be far more careful when using that same expression in your own speech or writing. The phrase "Wrapped around my/your/his/her finger" is far more conditional than the word "dominates". To adequately explain this would require a few long paragraphs. (i tried and then ended up erasing it all and starting over with this)

I've been searching for a good dictionary of idiom online. When I find one, I'll post it here. For the essential meaning of idiom it is important to learn a fairly sturdy part of it from a dictionary first, especially if you plan to use it in your own speech. Then you can set out to discover any nuance and currency which might be lacking in the dictionary.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by ieasy

Hi

"turn someone round one's finger" means to dominate somene. Right?

So if I want to say "you dominate him" can I say "you turn him around your finger"

Is it correct to say so??

I have never heard "turn" used this way. As the other two posters have written "twist" is used in BrE and "wrap" is used in AmE.

[Coffa]

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

I have never heard "turn" used this way. As the other two posters have written "twist" is used in BrE and "wrap" is used in AmE.

"Wrap" is also commonly used in BrE. See, for example, the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by the British band "The Police".

[Philly]

.
I've always heard this expression with "little finger":
.
Jenny has both her mother and father wrapped around her little finger.
.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Coffa

"Wrap" is also commonly used in BrE. See, for example, the song "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by the British band "The Police".

OK. Thanks. Learn a little every day.

[ieasy]

Originally Posted by wellhouse

Hi,
The phrase we use in the part of the UK I am from is 'to twist someone round your little finger' It is used as an expression of being able to get what you want from someone.
Example: I ask my husband for a new braclet and he thinks I don't need one. I would then talk him into buying it for me, he might say' you can twist me round your little finger'

Hope this helps

Thanks a lot for your information

[ieasy]

Originally Posted by wsemajb

If someone is pretending to love or care for another just to gain their affection and thereby access to money/automobile/sex/social status/club membership/free lunch/etc., then he has them wrapped around his finger.
It is often said that someone is "using" someone else.
"She's just using him for his wealth" (she's pretending to care about him so that she can spend his money")
"She has him wrapped around her finger"




Yes, it does mean to dominate. But there is so much more to it than that.
Getting the basic meaning of an idiomatic expression is fine for translation, since you can often get the broader meaning of it from its context. But you have to be far more careful when using that same expression in your own speech or writing. The phrase "Wrapped around my/your/his/her finger" is far more conditional than the word "dominates". To adequately explain this would require a few long paragraphs. (i tried and then ended up erasing it all and starting over with this)

I've been searching for a good dictionary of idiom online. When I find one, I'll post it here. For the essential meaning of idiom it is important to learn a fairly sturdy part of it from a dictionary first, especially if you plan to use it in your own speech. Then you can set out to discover any nuance and currency which might be lacking in the dictionary.

Thanks a lot for your information. I'm fnding out that my English is not as good as I thought...