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Glite Dictionary
to wear the trousers

to wear the trousers

1 7.9
To be the person who has the most control in a couple or family
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : llevar la voz cantante
  • Many believe that partnerships work best when one person wears the trousers and guides the other.

Examples

  • In their home, she definitely wears the trousers and makes most of the decisions.

  • Bob, who wears the pants in the relationship?

  • - She wishes to wear the trousers.

    Death on the Nile (1978)

  • You wear the trousers, eh, buster?

    Show Boat (1951)

  • Although he wanted to help, she always wears the trousers in their relationship.

Synonyms

to call the shots
vsto wear the trousers
  • Informal
99 4.2

To be in control and make the important decisions

is used for someone who has main authority within a couple or family
to call the tune
vsto wear the trousers
  • Informal
3 7.0

To have control and make the main decisions

is focused on authority within a personal relationship like couple or family

Antonyms

submissive
38 5.1

Willing to obey others and not argue

dominated
2.9

Controlled by a more powerful person, group, or force

How Dominant

to dominate
275 3.7
to call the shots
  • Informal
99 4.2
to wear the trousers
  • UK
1 7.9
to hold the reins
  • Informal
3 4.9

Surface Forms

wear the trousers infinitive
wearing the trousers present participle
wears the trousers third person singular
wore the trousers past
worn the trousers past participle

Morphology

wear + the + trousers

The meaning relies on a culturally specific metaphor (wearing trousers as a signal of authority or dominance) so there is a partial link between the parts and the idiomatic sense, but the authority meaning is not directly or universally derivable from the literal words. Some languages have comparable expressions which may help learners with those L1s, but an average B1 learner who only knows the literal meanings would not reliably infer ‘to be the person in control’.

Etymology

The idiom wear the trousers comes from older times when men usually wore trousers and were the decision makers, so someone who wore the trousers was seen as the person in charge. That's why today it means 'to have the main authority' in a couple or family.