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to be the person who controls or organizes a situation (You're the boss here – you get to call the shots.  cambridge.org); exercise authority or be in charge (Who is calling the shots in this house? vocabulary.com •
Mr. Nixon called the shots in the black community of Montgomery. •
I was the director, the maestro, I called the shots. •
The Saudis, the Iranians, the Iraqis, they called the shots, they were the ones with the vast stockpiles of oil, not the Americans, where the holes were running dry. •
Iranian society may be a traditional patriarchy, but at least in the sophisticated precincts of Tehran, its capital city, wives often call the shots, and husbands tremble in fear of their rage.); take the initiative in deciding how something should be done (We believe in parents and teachers calling the shots. lexico.com • It's all about getting the initiative and being in a position to call the shots. • We would love to know, Mr. Prime Minister, since for all practical purposes your Government still calls the shots on this supposedly autonomous corporation. • Interview those who own or manage the media and they will tell you that today it's the readership or viewership that calls the shots. • In the economy, however, it is always big capital that calls the shots. • The car sales staff can chat away all they like to the man about brake, horsepower and top speeds but it's really the woman who calls the shots. • In return, the new recruits are willing to do anything for the man who calls the shots. • Increasingly in shaping our foreign policy priorities it is the media which calls the shots. • Early on it was unclear who was really calling the shots.
); to have the power or authority to make decisions or control policy (be in charge, be in control, give the orders • The directors call the shots and nothing happens without their say-so. collinsdictionary.com •
Now that he's chairman of the board, he calls the shots. •
Is the military really the power behind the President now? Who really calls the shots?
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