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Glite Dictionary
to call the tune

to call the tune

3 7.0
To have control and make the main decisions
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : marcar el ritmo
  • Many Luxembourgers now seem to fear that in some communities, the foreign guests will call the tune in the future.
  • piper calls the tune

If government is not part of financing it, then understandably, those who pay the piper call the tune.

Examples

  • When it comes to project approvals, the manager gets to call the tune by deciding which ideas are pursued.

  • With capital, he'll call the tune.

    4 for Texas (1963)

  • Call the tune and watch the group dynamic dance along.

    Blog text (30)

  • He calls the tune and you dance to it.

    High Sierra (1941)

  • Everybody's wages are held down by allowing companies like McDonald's and Walmart to call the tune in this country.

    Blog text (5)

  • Without flexible financial support, there is always a risk that he who pays the piper calls the tune, which undermines the credibility of the think tank.

    Blog text (13)

  • For more than two years after Mao's death in September 1976, his designated successor, Hua Guofeng, called the tune.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The board of directors will call the tune when it comes to major company decisions.

  • In this negotiation, the investors will call the tune since they are providing the funding.

Synonyms

to command
vsto call the tune
307 2.7

To give orders and control people or things

is about deciding and holding authority rather than only issuing orders
to dictate
vsto call the tune
181 5.0

To give orders that control what other people do

is about being in overall control and making decisions, not only commanding
to call the shots
vsto call the tune
  • Informal
99 4.2

To be in control and make the important decisions

is about holding authority in general rather than only deciding individual situations
to take the lead
vsto call the tune
79 3.2

To start guiding a group or activity and make the main decisions

is about having long term authority to decide, not only taking temporary initiative
to hold sway
vsto call the tune
9 6.6

To have power over people or situations

is about formal authority to make decisions rather than informal influence
to rule the roost
vsto call the tune
  • Informal
3 6.3

To be in control of a group and make important decisions

is about holding authority and deciding, not about dominance or showing power
to hold the reins
vsto call the tune
  • Informal
3 4.9

To be in control of a group or business

is specifically about having authority to make important decisions rather than just managing
to wear the trousers
vsto call the tune
  • UK
1 7.9

To be the person who has the most control in a couple or family

is the general term for being in control across any situation, not only family

Antonyms

to obey
411 1.0

Do what someone in charge tells you or follow a rule

to submit
187 4.1

To accept another person's control, often against your wishes

How Powerful

final say
14 4.0
to call the tune
  • Informal
3 7.0
influence
430 3.4
to have a say
46 3.1

Surface Forms

call the tune infinitive
called the tune past
called the tune past participle
calling the tune present participle
calls the tune third person singular

Morphology

call + the + tune

The meaning 'to be in control' does not follow transparently from 'call' (to summon or request) plus 'the tune' (a melody); the literal image evokes commanding music, not exercising authority over decisions. This is an idiomatic/metaphorical extension that is culture-specific and unpredictable, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The idiom call the tune may come from old dances, where the person who could call the tune chose the song and led the dancers. If you could choose the music, you were in charge, so the phrase now means 'to be in control'.