have a hold over (someone)
have a hold over (someone)
To use knowledge of one's past behavior or misdeeds as a means of leverage or manipulation. I was a kid when I made that mistake! Just how long do you plan to have a hold over me?
See also: have, hold, over
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
have a hold over
Also, have a hold on. Have a controlling influence over. For example, Blackmailers have a hold over their victims, or, as Shakespeare put it in The Merchant of Venice (4:1): "The law has yet another hold on you." [Late 1500s]
See also: have, hold, over
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
- have a hold on (someone)
- have a hold over
- hold over
- wear sackcloth and ashes
- sackcloth
- in sackcloth and ashes
- put on sackcloth and ashes
- put on, wear, etc. sackcloth and ashes
- get what (one) deserves
- get what you deserve