unstrings

He says he communicates with news sources the old-fashioned way — he shows up on their doorsteps early in the morning, and unstrings a series of questions before they get their first cup of coffee.

The Beeper Cacophony 2009

I sit down to write tho I feel very Languid; the approach of Spring unstrings my nerves, and the South winds have the same

Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 2 April 1777 1963

Sorrowing mothers; I always hurry away when the first sod falls with its horrible thud; it unstrings the chords of one's being, and the best thing is to depart.

Woman's Endurance

But Leto alone stays by the side of Zeus who delights in thunder; and then she unstrings his bow, and closes his quiver, and takes his archery from his strong shoulders in her hands and hangs them on a golden peg against a pillar of his father's house.

Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, and Homerica Hesiod

Sorrowing mothers; I always hurry away when the first sod falls with its horrible thud; it unstrings the chords of one's being, and the best thing is to depart.

Woman's Endurance L, A D 1904

With the average man or woman it damps the spirits, unstrings the will, and slackens the mental and moral fibre until resistance of any kind becomes an effort.

A Modern Mercenary Hesketh Vernon Hesketh Prichard 1899

Under such conditions, with new wealth come luxury and love of ease and that fatal readiness to believe that God has placed us in the best of possible worlds, which so lowers men's aims and unstrings their firmness of purpose.

Among Famous Books John Kelman 1896

Under such conditions, with new wealth come luxury and love of ease and that fatal readiness to believe that God has placed us in the best of possible worlds, which so lowers men's aims and unstrings their firmness of purpose.

On Compromise John Morley 1880

Here it is too hot in summer and too cold in winter, or else it keys you up too tight one day and unstrings you the next; all fire and motion in the morning, and all listlessness and ennui in the afternoon; a spur one hour and a sedative the next.

Winter Sunshine John Burroughs 1879

They became aware of the melancholy fact that fatigue unstrings the youngest and toughest sinews.

The Young Fur Traders 1859