aan de touwtjes trekken

== Dutch == === Etymology === Literally, “to pull (at) the strings”, after a puppeteer controlling a marionette puppet. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌaːn də ˈtɑu̯.tjəs ˈtrɛ.kə(n)/ === Verb === aan de touwtjes trekken (intransitive, idiomatic) to pull the strings (to control behind the scenes, to manipulate secretly) ==== Conjugation ====