cling to the skirts of

verb2

1. •
   To depend upon and be unwilling to relinquish.

   • Cambridge is my alma mater in truth, and I do tend to cling to her skirts, despite Eddy's disgust. — 2016
2. •
   To be closely associated with or proximate to.

   • Shall Lee, with tens of thousands of murders clinging to his skirts, escape the full desert of his crimes, and this man, who aided his victims, die a felon's death? — 1990