Are they the same, meaning to make people feel emotional?
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3 Answers
The standard phrase or idiom is tug at one's heartstrings:
one's heartstrings
used in reference to one's deepest feelings of love or compassion:
the kitten's pitiful little squeak tugged at her heartstrings
Also, NOAD defines tug thus:
pull (something) hard or suddenly
Thus, when something tugs at (pulls at) your heartstrings, it deeply affects your feelings in some way (a prick, a pang, etc).
"Tug (or 'pull') at one's heartstrings" is an established idiom. "Tug at one's heart", is not, though it is a perfectly valid expression, with the right meaning.
Your question is slightly ambiguous, because of the word "make": to be clear, it is the thing that elicits compassion (which might be a person, an action, or an event) which "tugs at your heartstrings". You wouldn't use it of the person who was doing an action, unless they elicited compassion in themselves.
"Heartstrings" is pretty well obsolete, apart from this expression (the OED has no examples since 1896, though the entry was updated in 1989).
answered Mar 28, 2011 at 13:13
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+1 for saying "Tug at one's heart" is "a perfectly valid expression, with the right meaning."– Jimi OkeCommented Mar 28, 2011 at 15:53
This refers to the "Chordae tendineae" (chords of tendon) or the strings of tissue in hearts which keeps blood from filling the heart when it is trying to pump blood. This is the organic referent to the phrase.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chordae_tendineae Also, found in my Anatomy and Physiology lecture.
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Welcome to English Language & Usage! This is really a comment, not an answer as it doesn't address the OP's question about the two phrases.. With a bit more rep, you will be able to post comments. Commented Feb 27, 2016 at 20:22