1753    S. Richardson  IV. xxix. 181  				She..is obliged to be silent. I have her under my thumb.
1809    B. H. Malkin tr.  A. R. Le Sage  III.  vii. xiii. 174  				Authors..are under the thumb of booksellers and players.
1888    A. Jessopp  ii. 65  				The lord was a petty king, having his subjects very much under his thumb.