authority

(redirected from authorities)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia.

Related to authorities: arthritis

have it on good authority

To know certain information from a reliable source. I have it on good authority that Mom will take us out for ice cream if you finish your vegetables. Once that witness's story was verified, we had it on good authority that the man we'd arrested had in fact committed the crime.

throw (oneself) on/at the mercy of (someone)

To plead with someone, especially a figure of authority, to show one lenience and mercy. I have no excuse for what I did. I can only throw myself on the mercy of the duke and beg for his forgiveness. She threw herself at the mercy of the court, saying that her dependence on drugs led her to commit those crimes.

throw (oneself) upon the mercy of (someone)

carry (a lot of) weight (with someone or something)

Fig. to be very influential with someone or some group of people. Your argument does not carry a lot of weight with me. The senator's testimony carried a lot of weight with the council.

See also: carry, weight

carry one's (own) weight

and pull one's (own) weight

Fig. to do one's share; to earn one's keep. (The weight is the burden that is the responsibility of someone.) Tom, you must be more helpful around the house. We each have to carry our own weight. Bill, I'm afraid that you can't work here anymore. You just haven't been carrying your weight.

See also: carry, weight

carry weight (with someone)

Fig. to have influence with someone; [for an explanation] to amount to a good argument to use with someone. That carries a lot of weight with the older folks. What you say carries no weight with me.

See also: carry, weight

throw oneself at the mercy of some authority

and throw oneself on the mercy of some authority; throw oneself (up)on someone's mercy

Fig. to seek mercy from a court of law, especially at one's sentencing for a crime; to seek help from an official or institution. He pleaded guilty and threw himself at the mercy of the court. It did no good to throw myself on the mercy of the State Department. Please don't! I throw myself upon your mercy!

carry weight

Also, carry authority or conviction . Exert influence, authority, or persuasion, as in No matter what the President says, his words always carry weight. Shakespeare combined two of these expressions in Henry VIII (3:2): "Words cannot carry authority so weighty." [c. 1600]

See also: carry, weight

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.

have something on good authority

If you have something on good authority, you believe it is true because you trust the person who told you about it. I have it on good authority that there's no way this light can cause skin cancer. Note: This expression can be varied, for example by using get or be told instead of have. I'm told on good authority that you will be successful in your examinations.

See also: authority, good, have, on, something

carry weight

COMMON If a person or their opinion carries weight, they are respected and are able to influence people. Not only do men talk more, but what they say often carries more weight. El Tiempo is Colombia's leading newspaper and its opinions carry considerable weight in the country.

See also: carry, weight

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

have something on good authority

have ascertained something from a reliable source.

See also: authority, good, have, on, something

carry weight

be influential or important.

See also: carry, weight

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

have something on good auˈthority

be able to believe something because you trust the person who gave you the information: I have it on good authority that the chairman is going to resign.

See also: authority, good, have, on, something

carry ˈweight

be important or able to influence somebody: His opinions carry very little weight with his manager.

See also: carry, weight

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

carry weight

verb

See carry an amount of weight

See also: carry, weight

See also:

References in periodicals archive ?

Our review of the merchant banking authority brought this general issue to the fore for equity assets purchased under all authorities, not just the new merchant banking authority.

Statements to the Congress

The taxpayer should be aware that the information obtained may be shared with other taxing authorities in accordance with existing exchange agreements.

Auditing electronic data: a report of the Steering Committee Task Force on EDI Audit and Legal Issues for Tax Administration

monetary authorities invest all of their foreign currency balances in a variety of instruments that yield market-related rates of return and that have a high degree of liquidity and credit quality.

Treasury and Federal Reserve foreign exchange operations

91-23 provides that, as a condition to receiving Competent Authority assistance, a taxpayer must concede that it is not entitled to participate in the negotiations between competent authorities. While the Competent Authority process is, in the final analysis, a government-to-government negotiation, we believe that focused taxpayer involvement would both expedite the process and facilitate the negotiation of a settlement acceptable to the taxpayer and the competent authorities.

Rev. Proc. 91-23: competent authority

In an address delivered on behalf of the partners of the League of Independent Public Authorities Rami Salhi indicated that the role of this new structure, founded in September 2018, is to spread the culture of citizenship and strengthen the human rights system in the country.

Presidents of independent authorities claim financial and logistical support

It is no surprise, then, that moral authorities are often embedded in traditions.

A modern defense of religious authority

A badly damaged black box from the Boeing will probably be taken for analysis to the United States or Canada, after which it will be compared with the data from the business jet, aviation authorities said.

Aircraft News - Latin America / Caribbean

There are new policies and on-going discussions concerning custom and "traditional authorities" and the transformation of communal land tenure.

Custom and the politics of sovereignty in South Africa

Results indicate that by not allowing students much stake in judgments of mathematical validity, teachers may unwittingly create a classroom culture of students' dependence on "other" mathematical authorities.

Creating a culture of (in)dependence

While USJFCOM is not a national laboratory, the new authority gives the command many of the same authorities national laboratories use to structure partnerships with industry to exchange personnel and technical data, make technology assessments, and collaborate on research and development efforts.

U.S. Joint Forces Command public affairs (May 10, 2005): new technology transfer authority helps put transformation on the fast track

Given the complexity and ambiguity inhering in federal, state, and foreign tax rules, as well as companies' obligation to legitimately minimize costs, disputes with tax authorities about reported liabilities are routine.

TEI files comments on uncertain tax positions: September 12, 2005

German fiscal authorities have a clear focus on transaction-based methods; there is no order of priority of the standard methods for the examination of transfer prices.

Transfer pricing in Germany

With respect to supervision by home country authorities, the Board previously has determined, in connection with applications involving other banks in Japan, that those banks were subject to home country supervision on a consolidated basis by their home country supervisor, Japan's Financial Services Agency ("FSA").

Orders issued under International Banking Act

But somehow, when it comes to the church, we seem to be nervous about exercising that same kind of trust in church authorities, tradition, or scripture.

Who's the boss? The editors interview Richard Gaillardetz

CDC has generally deferred to state and local health authorities in the primary use of their own separate "police power" quarantine authorities to restrict the movement of persons within their boundaries.