wear the

wear the pants

To be in charge in or control of a relationship or family. The phrase is typically applied to a woman, contrasting the fact that pants were historically only worn by men, who were traditionally the decision makers within a household. Often followed by "in the family" or "in the house." I think it's pretty obvious who wears the pants in that family—Grandma Helene. Actually, in our relationship, we both wear the pants—we make decisions together.
See also: pant, wear
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

wear the

pants/trousers Informal
To exercise controlling authority in a household.
See also: wear
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • wear the britches
  • wear the pants
  • wear the pants, to
  • wear the pants in the/(one's) family
  • wear the pants in the/(one's) house
  • wear the trousers
  • by the seat of one's pants
  • by the seat of your pants
  • seat
  • seat of the pants, by the
References in classic literature
"Did n't your mother ever let you wear the nice things that came?" asked Maud.
Fanny acknowledged her wishes and doubts on this point: she did not know how either to wear the cross, or to refrain from wearing it.
William had wanted to buy her a gold chain too, but the purchase had been beyond his means, and therefore not to wear the cross might be mortifying him.
For, being able to change her face whenever she liked, the Princess had no interest in wearing a variety of gowns, as have other ladies who are compelled to wear the same face constantly.
The prevalence aetiology and clinical appearance of tooth wear the Nigerian experience.
The more surface is resistant to abrasive wear the trace smoother and vice versa.
A Kebaya is a traditional blouse worn by Malaysian and Indonesian women made from sheer material, in Malaysia, Nyonyas usually wear the Kebaya with a Javanese batik sarong.
Last year, after deciding to wear the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, and follow her faith more closely, she knew her routine would have to change.
Believe it or not, seventy percent of girls wear the wrong-size bra.
The power of television has been a boon to sports apparel and equipment manufacturers for years, as young, aspiring athletes have been inspired to wear the football jersey, lace up the basketball shoe, or use the same baseball glove as their favorite player.
In Prodigal I wear the brown leather top with holes in it--I feel comfortable in it, even though I don't particularly like the skirt.
It is very important for you to wear the personal protective equipment required during activities.
Kamal Ataturk started his social revolution by ordering Turkish men to wear the Western-style hat, instead of the traditional fez.
It was also found that of those listeners who indicated they would wear hearing aids, 88% (72) indicated they would wear the ITE hearing aid, 9% (7) indicated they would not wear the ITE hearing aid, and 4% (3) provided neutral or ambiguous responses.
Indeed, visual inspection indicates that in the initial stages of wear the surface roughness decreases as a polymer wear track is formed on the counterface.