short hairs

The hairs at the nape of your neck. Often used in the phrase "to be got/caught/held by the short hairs", which means that someone has you trapped in something, and you are unable to easily escape. Although often confused with the phrase "short and curlies" (which refers to pubic hair), the phrase "to be caught by the short hairs" is common from as far back as 1890 when it was used by the author Rudyard Kipling, whereas the phrase "to be held by the short and curlies" didn't come about until WWII when it was used primarily as military slang.

Although I'd rather come to your party, I promised my co-worker I would watch GoT with him. He took a photo of me sleeping at my desk last week, so he's really got me by the short hairs; I can't cancel on him, or he could get me fired.

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