eat out of someone's hand

English

Alternative forms

• eat from someone's hand

Etymology

An allusion to the manner in which a tame animal can be fed.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

eat out of someone's hand (third-person singular simple present eats out of someone's hand, present participle eating out of someone's hand, simple past ate out of someone's hand, past participle eaten out of someone's hand)

1. (idiomatic) To behave in a docile, submissive way towards someone.
   • 1954 October 7, Earl Wilson, “Earl Wilson's Broadway”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, retrieved 20 July 2010, page 17:

     When a woman has her husband eating out of her hand, says Washout, you can bet she also has him eating out of cans.

   • 2003 August 30, Tom Fordyce, “Saturday's Paris diary”, in BBC News, retrieved 20 July 2010:

     Jana Pittman, the new 400m hurdles world champion, had the media eating out of her hand in the aftermath of her victory.

   • 2008, Dave Duncan, The Alchemist's Apprentice‎^[1], →ISBN, page 151:

     Violetta is well aware of all this and goes out of her way to charm him. . . . He eats out of her hand and would not notice if she fed him rocks.

Usage notes

• Often used to describe a man's submissiveness to a woman due to romantic attraction.

Translations

to be submissive due to fascination

• French: manger dans la main (fr)
• Hungarian: a tenyeréből eszik (literally “to eat out of someone’s palm”)
• Portuguese: comer nas mãos de alguém

See also

• putty in someone's hands
• wrap around one's little finger