have someone by the short and curlies

Meanings:

• 1.

  United KingdomAustraliainformalliteralcolloquial
  • To grasp a person by a small, typically curled patch of hair.

• 2.

  United KingdomAustraliaidiomaticcolloquialinformal
  • To place someone in a difficult or compromising situation in which they have no good alternatives and can be controlled or coerced.