Dictionary

dance to someone's tune en · VERB

Meanings

1. To do what someone demands or expects, do as told, defer to someone's wishes or demands, do someone's bidding.
   • You simply become a puppet in the hands of others who will make you dance to their tune. In other words, you reduce yourself to a slave or beggar by mortgaging your happiness on the mercy of others. 1995, M.K. Gupta, How To Remain Ever Happy, →ISBN:
   • We are on earth to dance to our own tune! We have to know who I the individual is. 2014, Bernadette Reynolds, Dance to Your Own Tune, →ISBN, page 1:
   • Satan doesn't care whether they carry the bible; he doesn't care whether they say Jesus is Lord. That's not his problem; he has successfully used them to create a counterfeit church to confuse the populace. He knows they are already his and they dance to his tune ... their destiny is sealed. 2011, God'spower E O Udjor, The Dance of Herodias Daughter: Revealing Satan’s Last Deception in the Church, →ISBN, page 51:
   • If the other traders followed our example, relations between Britain and China would improve dramatically. Think about it the next time you go off in a huff because the Chinese won't dance to your tune.' 2012, E.V. Thompson, Dream Traders, →ISBN:

Forms

Translations (11)

da danse efter nogens pibe (to do what someone expects) · it farsi comandare a bacchetta da qualcuno (to do what someone expects) · nl naar iemands pijpen dansen (to do what someone expects) · de nach jemandes Pfeife tanzen (to do what someone expects) · fi tanssia jonkun pillin mukaan (to do what someone expects) · sv dansa efter någons pipa (to do what someone expects) · ja ほいほい従う (to do what someone expects) · fa به ساز کسی رقصیدن (to do what someone expects) · it ballare al ritmo dettato da qualcuno (to do what someone expects) · ja 誰かの言いなりになる (to do what someone expects) · nb danse etter noens pipe (to do what someone expects)