tightening the purse strings

Verb

tighten the purse strings (third-person singular simple present tightens the purse strings, present participle tightening the purse strings, simple past and past participle tightened the purse strings)

1. (colloquial, idiomatic) To decrease spending or disallow increased spending; to increase control of spending.
   • ...would have the opposite effect entirely, and would tighten the purse-strings of capitalists and the employers of...1894, New Zealand Parliament, Parliamentary debates, page 710