aan de touwtjes trekken
Dutch
Etymology
Literally, “to pull (at) the strings”, after a puppeteer controlling a marionette puppet.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌaːn də ˈtɑu̯.tjəs ˈtrɛ.kə(n)/
Verb
aan de touwtjes trekken
- (intransitive, idiomatic) to pull the strings (to control behind the scenes, to manipulate secretly)
Inflection
Conjugation of aan de touwtjes trekken: see trekken.