hold the cards en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To be in a strong position, possessing significant advantages over someone else; to be in control of a situation involving multiple parties.
"In the short term, from a power perspective, the current Zimbabwe elite is holding the cards," says Steven Friedman, director of the Center for the Study of Democracy.
2008 July 10, Megan Lindow, “Why Mugabe and His Foe Are Talking”, in Time:"[B]ut if you make conditions I have no choice but to accept them, seeing that you hold the cards."
1907, R. Austin Freeman, chapter 14, in The Red Thumb Mark:Once a ticket is paid for and the airline has your money, it holds the cards.
1986 August 17, Peter H. Lewis, “Practical Traveller: Learning the ABC's — as well as the XYZ's — of Flying”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 Jan 2012:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| holding the cards | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| held the cards | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| held the cards | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| hold all the cards | alternative | lexicographic | |
| holds the cards | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Relateds
Synonyms
hold the aces · hold all the aces
Translations (6)
pl mieć przewagę (To be in a strong position) · it avere il coltello dalla parte del manico (To be in a strong position) · nl alle troeven in handen hebben (To be in a strong position) · es tener la sartén por el mango (To be in a strong position) · fr avoir les cartes en main (To be in a strong position) · fi hallita tilannetta (To be in a strong position)