pull at someone's heartstrings

English

Verb

pull at someone's heartstrings (third-person singular simple present pulls at someone's heartstrings, present participle pulling at someone's heartstrings, simple past and past participle pulled at someone's heartstrings)

1. Synonym of play on someone's heartstrings
   • 2023 December 17, Olivia Empson, quoting Dr Geri-Lynn Utter, “‘Tranq tourism’: alarm in Philadelphia as TikTokers travel to film drug users”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “These videos don’t pull at the heartstrings; they make these people look like animals in a zoo instead of individuals that need help,” said Dr Geri-Lynn Utter, a clinical psychologist specializing in addiction.