loosen the purse strings

English

(idiomatic, colloquial) To increase spending or allow increased spending; to relax control of spending.
- 1848, Parliament of Great Britain, “The Parliamentary debates”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), volume 96‎, page cdlvii:
  He thought the effect of this language from the Prime Minister had been to loosen the purse-strings of the Treasury.
- 2004, The 9/11 Commission report, final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (authorized edition), National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, page 358:
  Proponents of the counterterrorism agenda might respond by being less inclined to loosen the purse strings than they would have been if offered a convincing...

to increase or allow to increase spending