have the cards in one's hands
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English
[edit]Verb
[edit]have the cards in one's hands (third-person singular simple present has the cards in one's hands, present participle having the cards in one's hands, simple past and past participle had the cards in one's hands)
- To have the initiative for or the means of success, to be in a position to control the outcome.
- 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:
- Gogs bloud Iacke, haue we the cards in our hands?
Lets take it vpon vs while we haue it.