Have a hold over


Also, have a hold on. Have a controlling influence over. For example, Blackmailers have a hold over their victims, or, as Shakespeare put it in The Merchant of Venice (4:1): “The law has yet another hold on you.” [ Late 1500s ]

Read Also:

  • Have a leg up on

    verb phrase To have a good start on some project, process, in some competition, etc; be well on the way to a goal: She just started, and they already have a leg up on it (1940s+)

  • Have a little on the side

    verb phrase To be sexually unfaithful; cheat (1940s+) Related Terms get a little on the side

  • Have all the moves

    verb phrase To be very skillful; be expert, esp and originally in a sport or game (1970s+)

  • Have a load on

    verb phrase To be drunk; feel no pain (1598+)

  • Have a lock on something

    verb phrase To be assured of some result; be certain of success: Catholics constantly yearn for moral conviction, and Mr Powell’s got a lock on that [1970s+; fr lock, ”a wrestling hold”]


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