Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nawee]

Hello,

Is there an English expression/idiom/proverb which describes someone who is powerless and depends on the mercy of another person?

My native language has an expression like "a chick in the hand which dies if squeezed and lives if let go,".

It doesn't really have to do with literal dying. It may be in the context of a mafia and a non-gangster, lovers (one is totally in love with another), or something like that.

Thank you,

Nawee

[Mister Micawber]

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A milquetoast? A wimp? A person who is putty in the palm of one's hand?
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"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
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Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's