on (one's) say-so
With or according to one's authorization or permission. Although I'm the manager of this department, I can only make changes to the way things run on the general manager's say-so. A: "We're going to start transferring the funds into the new account." B: "On whose say-so?"
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
on one's say-so
According to one's authority, as in I'm reorganizing the files on the boss's say-so, or You can skip the exam? On whose say-so? The noun say-so, dating from about 1630, originally meant simply "saying something," that is, an assertion (without authority or proof). By the early 1800s it had acquired its present meaning.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.