eat out of someone's hand en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
An allusion to the manner in which a tame animal can be fed.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To behave in a docile, submissive way towards someone.
When a woman has her husband eating out of her hand, says Washout, you can bet she also has him eating out of cans.
1954 October 7, Earl Wilson, “Earl Wilson's Broadway”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, retrieved 20 Jul 2010, page 17:Violetta is well aware of all this and goes out of her way to charm him. . . . He eats out of her hand and would not notice if she fed him rocks.
2008, Dave Duncan, The Alchemist's Apprentice, →ISBN, page 151:"And after all this," I remarked, "I suppose you were ready to eat out of his hand." "Don't be coarse, James. I don't know where you get these vulgar expressions from."
1926, Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd:Jana Pittman, the new 400m hurdles world champion, had the media eating out of her hand in the aftermath of her victory.
2003 August 30, Tom Fordyce, “Saturday's Paris diary”, in BBC News, retrieved 20 Jul 2010:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eating out of someone's hand | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| eat from someone's hand | alternative | lexicographic | |
| eats out of someone's hand | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| ate out of someone's hand | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| eaten out of someone's hand | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
wrap around one's little finger · putty in someone's hands
Translations (4)
fr manger dans la main (to be submissive due to fascination) · pt comer nas mãos de alguém (to be submissive due to fascination) · pl być pod totalną kontrolą (to be submissive due to fascination) · hu a tenyeréből eszik (to be submissive due to fascination)