English

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Etymology

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pull +‎ string

Noun

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pullstring (plural pullstrings)

  1. A cord that activates or releases something when pulled.
    • 1975, Gazette Du Bureau Des Brevets:
      The toy includes a pullstring phonograph and a mechanism for preventing inward movement of the string until the predetermined operation is performed.
    • 2004, Debra Porter, Lucid Dream: A Healing Allegory, page 36:
      These crates were constructed to unload the wood with a pullstring. Like puppets, the wood danced in the air as it was unloaded.