tighten the purse strings

English

Alternative forms

• tighten the purse-strings
• tighten the pursestrings

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

tighten the purse strings (third-person singular simple present tightens the purse strings, present participle tightening the purse strings, simple past and past participle tightened the purse strings)

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) To decrease spending or disallow increased spending; to increase control of spending.
   • 1894, New Zealand Parliament, Parliamentary debates, page 710:

     ...would have the opposite effect entirely, and would tighten the purse-strings of capitalists and the employers of...

   • 1989 July 24, editorial, “Companies still backing the efforts of net managers”, in Network World, volume 6, number 29, page 28:

     It's hard for upper management to tighten the purse strings on a project that promises to save money, boost productivity and enable employees to respond better and faster to changing competitive situations.

Antonyms

• loosen the purse strings

Translations

to decrease or cause to decrease spending

• Finnish: tiukentaa kukkaron nyörejä
• German: den Gürtel enger schnallen (de)
• Italian: stringere i cordoni della borsa (literally), tirare la cinghia

See also

• hold the purse strings