keep (someone) under (one's) thumb

To maintain authoritarian control over someone; to continually force someone to submit to one's will. They seem happy when they're out and about, but I hear that Johnny keeps his husband under his thumb at home. Although the job was well paying, I couldn't stand the way the boss kept me under his thumb.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Marsha	MAHR-shə	English
Kwabena	-	Western African, Akan
Thiago	-	Portuguese (Brazilian)
Stewart	['stjuət]
Mahaut	ma-O	French
Gennadiya	gye-NAH-dee-yah, gee-NAH-dee-yah	Russian