apron-strings
Smothering mother's symbol
Apron-strings appear almost exclusively in the phrase tied to someone's apron-strings, meaning excessively dependent on or controlled by that person—usually a mother or wife.
The image is of a child clinging to a mother's apron.
To cut the apron-strings is to become independent.
One who manages a household
- kitchenFood preparation room
- housewifeHome-focused married woman
- maternalOf or like mothers
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
caretaker · domestic · hearth · cooking · traditional · motherhood · household · wifely
Female parent
- overprotectiveGuarding too zealously
- smotheringDepriving of air
- clingyTending to hold on
- attachmentConnection or fondness
control · domineering · helicopter · coddling · sheltered · infantilizing · umbilical · possessive
homemaker
One who manages a household
nurturing · caretaker · domestic · hearth · cooking · traditional · motherhood · household · wifely · homebound
mother
Female parent
- overprotectiveGuarding too zealously
- smotheringDepriving of air
- clingyTending to hold on
attachment · control · domineering · helicopter · coddling · sheltered · infantilizing · umbilical · possessive · hovering
apron-stringsindependence
Freedom from external control
freedom · autonomy · self-reliance · emancipation · liberty
apron-stringsgrown-up
Mature person
maturity · adulthood · coming of age · self-made · man of the world
apron-stringsgrown-up
Mature person
adulthood · maturity · coming of age · leaving the nest · empty nest
apron, string, aprons, aproned, strings, strung, stringed, stringy, stringier