Podcast: die Fäden ziehen #idiom

Today, we talk about the German idiom “die Fäden ziehen”. What does “die Fäden ziehen” mean?

to pull the stringsIdiomHyphenationdie Fä·den zie·hen

Meanings[1] exerting the decisive influence from the background, actually having the power

[2] literally: removing threads (e.g. in a sewn wound)

Origin[1] The phrase is based on the idea of the puppet player, who invisible to the audience pulls the strings and thus moves the puppets.

Synonyms[1] to lead, to steer, to control