Definition of "purse-strings" [purse-strings]

• The strings by means of which a purse is fastened or unfastened.

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "But several participants at the Bloomberg event noted that Germany, Europe's strongest economy and the holder of any rescue purse-strings, has been deeply reluctant to offer concessions to weaker European countries in negotiations about bailout efforts."
• "And that those big corporations holding the purse-strings of our family -- the citizens of this world -- will never change the way they operate."
• "My father held the purse-strings, and he let it be known that this was where the buck stopped."