apron strings:

From the expression ' tied to a woman's (her) apron strings ', meaning:

1. Dependent and subservient to a woman ; said of children with regards to their mothers and husbands with their wives.

Quote: Clint Belmet (Gary Cooper) about Felice (Lily Damita) in Fighting Caravans (1931): ' Trying to get me into her corral , tied to her apron strings '.

2. Mothered and smothered.

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