CALL THE TUNE Definition & Meaning

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call the tune

To be in control. The phrase comes from the proverb “ The one who pays the piper calls the tune .”

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Idioms and Phrases

Make important decisions, exercise authority, as in Nancy said that it's her turn to call the tune . The full term is Who pays the piper calls the tune , meaning whoever bears the cost of an enterprise should have authority over it. [Late 1800s] Also see the synonym call the shots .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He, or she, who wields the gavel calls the tune.

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And the Rehnquist court had a broad definition of corruption that encompassed rich donors’ power to “call the tune” for elected officials.

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“Corporations have always called the tune ultimately. Everyone pays attention to the guys at the top and always has.”

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The question, of course, is how long, even at those companies, the old law will be suspended — that he who pays the piper calls the tune.

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Called Demo Le Abbay, meaning "If They Test Us on the Nile" in Amharic, it criticises "Egypt's shamelessness" - implying that the North African nation can no longer call the tune.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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