pull at someone's heartstrings

present singular third person pulls at someone's heartstrings · participle present pulling at someone's heartstrings · participle past pulled at someone's heartstrings · past pulled at someone's heartstrings · alternative pull at someone's heart strings

1. Synonym of play on someone's heartstrings.

   “These videos don’t pull at the heartstrings; they make these people look like animals in a zoo instead of individuals that need help,” said Dr Geri-Lynn Utter, a clinical psychologist specializing in addiction.

   2023 December 17, Olivia Empson, quoting Dr Geri-Lynn Utter, “‘Tranq tourism’: alarm in Philadelphia as TikTokers travel to film drug users”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: play on someone's heartstrings