pull strings

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformal

   To use your personal connections or influence, often quietly, to get something done or to win an advantage for yourself or someone else.

   Grammar: Verb idiom that takes no direct object; 'pull strings for someone' names the person helped.

   Patterns

   • pull strings for someone
   • pull strings to do something
   • pull strings with someone

   She pulled strings to get her nephew an interview at the bank.

   I can't promise anything, but I'll see if I can pull a few strings.

   He got the apartment because his uncle pulled strings at the housing office.

2. 2phraseidiominformalfigurative

   To secretly control what other people do or how events unfold, like a puppeteer working a puppet.

   Grammar: Often used in the continuous form with 'behind the scenes' and describes hidden control.

   Patterns

   • pull the strings
   • pull strings behind the scenes

   Many people suspect that the chairman is the one pulling the strings in the company.

   The mayor looks powerful, but a few wealthy donors are really pulling the strings.

Word forms

Common combinations

pull strings for someone

His father pulled strings for him at the local council.

pull a few strings

If you need tickets, I might be able to pull a few strings.

pull strings behind the scenes

The producer pulled strings behind the scenes to save the show.

know someone who can pull strings

She knows someone who can pull strings at the embassy.

refuse to pull strings

The principal refused to pull strings, even for her own friends.

Synonyms and how they differ

use influence

This is a neutral, more formal phrase that does not suggest anything secret or slightly unfair the way 'pull strings' often does.

call in a favor

This focuses on asking someone who owes you something, while 'pull strings' is about using connections in general.

wire-pull

This is a rarer, older term and is almost always used in a critical way about political influence.

manipulate

This is stronger and more negative, suggesting you control people unfairly rather than just using contacts.

Opposites

Word family

string noun

thin cord, and in this idiom the cords that move a puppet

puppeteer noun

a person who controls puppets, and so someone who secretly controls others

puller noun

a person or thing that pulls

strings attached phrase

hidden conditions that come with an offer

Commonly confused: pull strings or pull someone's leg? pull strings or strings attached?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “pull strings”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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