run the show

run the show

To have autonomy or authority over something; to be in control of something. You can tell that the manager, so used to running the show in the office, is finding it hard to adjust to having a boss of his own just a few doors down. I'm the director, so I run the show here, OK? My word is final.
See also: run, show
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

run the show

to be in charge; to be in command. Who's running this show? No, I don't want to have to run the show again.
See also: run, show
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

run the show

Take charge, assume control, as in Ever since Bill retired from the business, his daughter's been running the show. The word show here simply means "kind of undertaking." [First half of 1900s] A similar usage is run one's own show, meaning "exert control over one's own activities" or "act independently." For example, The high school drama club didn't ask permission to perform that play-they want to run their own show . [Mid-1900s]
See also: run, show
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

run the show

INFORMAL
COMMON If someone runs the show, they are in control of an organization, event, or situation. So who's actually running the show around here? What board of directors? You know as well as I do that you're the one who runs the show!
See also: run, show
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

run the show

(sometimes disapproving) be in control of a plan, a project, an organization, etc: Why does Sheila always have to run the show? There are plenty of other people who could organize the event just as well as her.
See also: run, show
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

run the show, to

To take charge. Originating in the mid-nineteenth-century theater, this term was transferred to being responsible for any kind of enterprise. John Braine used it in Room at the Top (1957): “The accountants and the engineers run the show no matter who’s in charge.” See also call the shots.
See also: run
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • all right
  • a fast talker
  • a/the feel of (something)
  • (I) wouldn't (do something) if I were you
  • a straw will show which way the wind blows
  • a crack at (someone or something)
  • (you) wanna make something of it?
  • all for the best
  • a thing of the past
  • a slew of (something)
References in classic literature
'All right, guv'ner,' I told him, 'you run the show, and I'll take the tickets!' An' so he set Aunt Polly to watch me--hic--an' now Polly's off in the hospital havin' twins, an' me out raisin' Cain!
Jungle
"It's always tough for the younger guys, with a few more experienced around, to come in and run the show. But he comes in at training and in matches telling everyone what needs to be done - he'll be running the show just like Johnny (Sexton) would do when he's playing.
BYRNE'S TURN TO SHINE
In most places, the deputies have been relegated to mere observers as their bosses run the show.
Utilise deputy governors
Igathe, the former Vivo Energy MD, is believed to be highly favoured by the executive to run the show at City Hall, a move said to have angered his boss.
'We're good': Sonko defends working relations with Igathe
IN reply to Margaret Smith's "get us out of the European union" letter, I say let us run the show.
We can show EU how to ruin UK
I have to say that what we are is because they run the show".
We are helpless without our makeup artists, says Malaika Arora Khan
But there will be no more sizeable swedes on display after organisers announced they could no longer afford to run the show.
Here today but gone to-marrow; Funding crisis puts an end to Giant Veg Show
And he vowed to run the show like one of his restaurant kitchens.
Gord help Ian Hislop
Unlike a job interview, do not try to sell your self Only answer questions asked and let the board run the show. Boards rarely turn down applicants for being too boring.
11 pointers to passing the co-op board interview
The study will look at service models, ideal scheduling, what type of cars would best fit the bill and who could run the show. The service provider could be anything from a private investor to a major carrier, such as Via Rail or Canadian Pacific, to a non-profit organization, according to Gervais.
Rail consultant wants Northerners back on the tracks
At a time when Blair has put the party under real pressure and public confidence has waned, Brown has proved yet again he is the only man who can run the show. - Ross Davidson, Edinburgh.
MAIL BOX: GORDON SHOWS LABOUR THE WAY
Perhaps in their ideal world, where President Kerry and Secretary of State Biden run the show, such precision is possible.
Iraq's summer soldiers: liberal hawks as ideological deserters
"We identify who are the senior producing people who can run the show," explains Karzen, who doubles as production executive for Fleiss's banner, Next Entertainment, and as vice president of programming for Telepictures Productions, the Warner Bros.
No Bachelor for her: OutTV mogul Brooke Karzen makes hits like The Bachelor at the office--and savors time with her family at home
Carmarthen's Merlin, Magic and Mystery Festival has been extended to run for a week from June 4-11 with Welsh comedian Mike Doyle helping to run the show.
Try for record Harry Potter attempt in June
But far fewer of the tourist dollars flow to the local people (save for low-paying jobs making up beds) than to the moneyed interests that run the show. During our week's stay we made it to El Junque and also snorkeled the island's beautiful reefs, but it was hard to enjoy the experience in the midst of such sharp contrasts of wealth and poverty.
Travel, lite. (E Word)