have someone by the short hairs
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
have complete control over someone
Literally: hold someone by the short hairs of their head
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The lawyer had the witness by the short hairs and forced him to admit his mistake
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “have someone by the short hairs” mean?
have complete control over someone Literally: hold someone by the short hairs of their head
Is “have someone by the short hairs” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.