call the shots

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call (all) the shots

To dictate how a situation or agenda proceeds, as from a position of authority. My staff has to do what I say because I'm the boss, and I call all the shots here! Mom calls the shots for Thanksgiving dinner, so you better get her approval for any dish you want to bring.

See also: call, shot

call (all) the shots

to decide on the course of action; to be in charge. Why do you have to call all the shots? Do what you're told. I'll call the shots.

See also: call, shot

call the shots

and call the tune

Fig. to make the decisions; to decide what is to be done. Sally always wants to call the shots, and Mary doesn't like to be bossed around. They don't get along well. Sally always wants to call the tune.

See also: call, shot

call the shots

Exercise authority, be in charge, as in It's up to the boss to call the shots. This term probably alludes to determining accuracy in target practice. [Mid-1900s] Also see call the tune.

See also: call, shot

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

call the shots

INFORMAL

COMMON If you call the shots, you are the person who makes all the important decisions in an organization or situation. Is the military really the power behind the President now? Who really calls the shots? He had to be the one calling the shots, in control of everything. Note: This may refer to someone shooting and saying which part of the target they intend to hit. Alternatively, it may refer to a snooker or pool player saying which ball they intend to hit or which pocket they intend to hit it into.

See also: call, shot

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

call the shots (or tune)

take the initiative in deciding how something should be done; be in control. informal

Call the shots was originally an American phrase, first recorded in the 1960s. Call the tune comes from the saying he who pays the piper calls the tune , which dates from the late 19th century.

1996 Sunday Telegraph Britain is no longer run from Downing Street. It's Brussels that calls the shots.

See also: call, shot

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

call the ˈshots/the ˈtune

(informal) be in control: Ask Jenny — she’s the one who calls the shots around here.

call the shots

verb

See call all the shots

See also: call, shot

call the shots

Be in charge, make all major decisions. This colloquialism, dating from the mid-1900s, probably alludes to target practice. David Baldacci used it in Hour Game (2004): “Okay, I was right; the feds call the shots and take the glory.” See also run the show.

See also: call, shot

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References in periodicals archive ?

Although the handicapper has taken quite a severe view of that run, Call The Shots will be suited by the step up in trip today and, with Tony Dobbin booked to ride him, is fancied to get the better of the in-form Influence Pedler.

Call The Shots to hit the target; The North

Chris Pinches, aged 51, chairman of Call the Shots, said the contest had been held for the past two years and last year attracted 10 entries.

A weekend challenge for film makers

Tomorrow's seminar is free to Call the Shots members and pounds 5 (pounds 2.50 if unwaged) for non-members.

Chance to learn filming skills

AMERICAN sugar daddy Randy Lerner may call the shots at Aston Villa these days, but 'Deadly' Doug Ellis - the chairman who named a stand after himself - still holds court in his former kingdom.

Predator: DEADLY'S RESPECT A SIGN OF THE TIME

FILMMAKING group Call the Shots and the Leamington Film Co-op are holding a Trail Blazers 48- hour trailer challenge over the weekend of August 21 and 22.

Film chance

In its favour, Holiday: We Call the Shots did provide a different take on what has become a familiar stop on the tourist trail, as we visited venues such as La Defence and local markets rather than the typical Eiffel Tower and Champs Elysees.

The not so great escape; tv review

The ruthlessness of tycoons such as Roman Abramovich means they want to call the shots.

VOICE OF THE DAILY Mirror: No play, Jose

Call the Shots, which operates out of the Depot Studios, Bond Street, Coventry, is offering the chance to gain valuable experience in film-making and to see the end result on the big screen.

Paul Hardy, Call the Shots production co-ordinator, said: "Ninety seconds is a perfect length in which to practise film-making skills because it can be shot in a single day and also because the length forces you to tell an efficient story without diversions.

"Call the Shots will be shooting two films over two days and people who get involved will have the opportunity to work at a different job each day so they can gain the maximum experience."

Chance to see your name on the credits; FILM-MAKERS GROUP IN INVITATION TO HELP SHOOT 90-SECOND SHORTS

Sir Bobby Robson is more interested in Southampton's pounds 6million-rated James Beattie, but the Dutch star (left) is trying to call the shots after being released by Barcelona for free.

Football: Kluivert dead keen

Jack Van Spall, aged 12, of Deppers Bridge, near Southam, has just been given the job of taking part in a CBBC show in the Call the Shots series, which starts a run in July.

Schoolboy, 12, to front TV show; JUNIOR ANIMATOR JACK'S TRIP TO THE STATES A 'DREAM COME TRUE'

There is a new-found confidence about Jayne, currently presenting Holiday - You Call The Shots. Ironically, it is down to her being single again.

Last year, she spent months out of the country making LA Pool Party, then went straight into filming Holiday On A Shoestring and Holiday - You Call The Shots. But if her job is to blame for her failed romance, she has no regrets.

Interview: Jayne Middlemiss - How Jayne's calling the shots; Why life is one long holiday for presenter Jayne Middlemiss, who is enjoying being a single girl again

Lynch admits he's approaching the end of his playing days - and while he's enjoying life on the field, he's still eager to call the shots and would jump at the chance of calling the shots off the field again.