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Phrase(s): *putty in someone’s hands
Fig. [of someone] easily influenced by someone else; excessively willing to do what someone else wishes. (Putty is soft and malleable. *Typically: be ~; seem like ~.) • Bob’s wife is putty in his hands. She never thinks for herself. • Jane is putty in her mother’s hands. She always does exactly what her mother says.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs