Under one’s thumb—under someone’s control or management; continually forced to submit to another’s will 在某人的支配或是控制之下

Examples:

  • He’s got the committee firmly under his thumb. They agree to whatever he asks.
  • They seem happy when they’re out and about, but I heard that Vicki is under her husband’s thumb at home.

(Intelligencer, 2021/3/12)

When Allesandra Biaggi beat Jeff Klein in 2018, she was part of a group of new legislators who finally rid the state of the Independent Democratic Conference. (…)

“Part of my healing,” said one former member of Cuomo’s staff, “came when Alessandra won and when she started to confront him and not fear him.” Many in Cuomoland saw the victory of Biaggi as a stand-in for victory over Cuomo himself.

Biaggi在2018年擊敗Klien成為紐約州參議員之後,她就參與一群新議員,他們終於讓紐約州擺脫了[獨立民主黨會議] (一個有八個成員的民主黨參議員組織,卻跟共和黨參議員聯合,讓共和黨在參議院擁有多數)。

一個前柯莫州長辦公室的職員說,她的療癒部分來自Biaggi贏得選舉,開始對抗州長,無畏其權勢。很多在柯莫圈內的人也認為Biaggi的勝利,簡直就像擊敗柯莫本人的勝利。

It’s not just the young left wiggling out from under his thumb. After eight years in which State Senate Republicans kept Democrats from control of the Legislature, Andrea Stewart-Cousins is now in power as the majority leader of the New York State Senate. On March 6, she called for Cuomo’s resignation.

並不是只有年輕左派議員從他的掌控下脫身。Andrea Stewart-Cousins擔任八年的紐約州參議員,期間共和黨議員控制了議會,現在她終於掌權,是紐約州議會多數黨領袖。三月六號,她公開要求柯莫辭職。

(New York Times, 2021/6/27)

In over a decade in which I’ve covered Amazon, one conversation stands out as neatly summarizing the ethos of the e-commerce giant under Jeff Bezos, who will step aside as chief executive next month. An Amazon executive was confronting his new role as a buyer of large appliances, like dishwashers, after several years as a book buyer. “We had beaten publishers into submission,” the executive said, noting giddily that when “Amazon asked for a nickel, publishers know to give a dime.”

“We aren’t there yet with the Whirlpools and the Samsungs,” he added. “We’ll get them under our thumb.”

在我採訪亞馬遜的十幾年中,有一次談話精準總結了貝佐斯領導下的電商巨擘之精神,貝佐斯下個月即將離開總裁的位置。一名亞馬遜主管在擔任幾年的圖書買者之後,新職位轉為大型家電買者。他開心地說: [我們把出版商都打得服服貼貼,當亞馬遜要求五毛,出版商都知道怎麼給一塊。]

他又說: [我們跟惠而浦還有三星還沒做到這一步,但是我們會支配他們的。]

Mr. Bezos, 57, has a complicated legacy of towering ambition, extraordinary success, unimaginable personal wealth and a scorched-earth business approach that is the envy of nearly every tech entrepreneur and a lightning rod for criticism. He is retreating from the top role just as Amazon faces the most serious regulatory threats to its business in its 27-year history.

五十七歲的貝佐斯留下的影響其實很複雜。他高遠的野心,極其成功的事業,難以想像的個人財富和焦土政策的商業模式,雖然是所有高科技創業者艷羨的對象,但也讓他飽受批評。他現在退出領導人的職位,正當他的公司面臨成立27年來最嚴重的管理威脅。

Photos: nypost 

Sound(中文解說): ICRT blog