piper

To dictate how a situation or agenda proceeds, as from a position of authority. The phrase is a shortened version of "Who pays the piper calls the tune," which means that the person who pays for something assumes control over it. My staff has to do what I say because I'm the boss, and I call the tune here! Mom calls the tune for Thanksgiving dinner, so you better get her approval for any dish you want to bring.

proverb The person who pays for something will or should dictate how something should be done. At the end of the day, though, their company is paying for the study, and he who pays the piper calls the tune.

To face, accept, or suffer repercussions for one's actions or words, especially those that would be expected to incur punishment. After three nights of heavy drinking, I'm really going to be paying the piper come Monday morning! With the judge handing down the maximum possible sentence, this monster will be paying the piper for the rest of his life.

Prov. If you are paying for someone's services, you can dictate exactly what you want that person to do. When Mrs. Dalton told the artist what she wanted her portrait to look like, the artist cringed to think that anyone could have such bad taste. Still, he who pays the piper calls the tune, and Mrs. Dalton got what she wanted.

Fig. to face the results of one's actions; to receive punishment for something. You can put off paying your debts only so long. Eventually you'll have to pay the piper. You can't get away with that forever. You'll have to pay the piper someday.

Make important decisions, exercise authority, as in Nancy said that it's her turn to call the tune. The full term is Who pays the piper calls the tune, meaning whoever bears the cost of an enterprise should have authority over it. [Late 1800s] Also see the synonym call the shots.

see under call the tune.

People say he who pays the piper calls the tune to mean that the person who pays for something has the right to decide what it will be like. He who pays the piper calls the tune. It's important our customers have a real say on the balance between demands for improved services and increasing charges. Note: People often vary this expression. If these countries are to pay the piper, they will expect at least some say in his choice of tune. They had a strong tendency to call the tune without paying the piper. Compare with call the tune. Note: This may come from the custom, dating back to the 17th century, of hiring travelling musicians to play at festivals and weddings. The people who paid for the music were able to choose the tunes they wanted to hear.

COMMON If someone calls the tune, they are in control of a situation and make all the important decisions. If managers tried to get players to come back in the afternoon they'd have a riot on their hands. The players call the tune these days. Whether you're talking plant-breeding or choice of seed, supermarkets call the tune. Note: This expression comes from the proverb `he who pays the piper calls the tune'.

To bear the consequences of something.

To bear the cost. This term refers to the musician who provides entertainment and the host’s obligation to pay him or her. “Always those that dance must pay the musicke” is an early version of the current term used by John Taylor (Taylor’s Feast, 1638). A late nineteenth-century addition was that he who does pay should call the tune—that is, the person who bears the cost may choose just what he or she is paying for. “I am going to pay the piper and call the tune,” wrote Shaw (Major Barbara, 1905).

Be forced to acknowledge and accept an unpleasant consequence of your action. The full expression is “Who pays the piper calls the tune,” which is to say that money calls the shots (“Money makes the mare go” is the same idea). But although a request can be melodious, the phrase came to have an unpleasant connotation, as if the music that the piper produced was not what was anticipated. For example, you tell your supervisor and your colleagues that you can undertake and finish an important assignment in two days, but you can't. As your supervisor takes you to task, you silently admit that you bit off more than you could chew—you're paying the piper.