Language: en
Meaning: (intransitive,idiomatic)Todemonstrateoneself to bedominant; to show that one has theupper hand.1975, Dorothy Corkille Briggs,Your Child's Self-esteem: The Key to Life,→ISBN,page234:When children are young, spanking is a familiar device toshow who's boss.1989June 24,Alan Cowell, “Coping With Curfew in Gaza”, inNew York Times, retrieved11 June 2015:Israeli soldiers . . . impose the curfews as collective punishment or as a means to head off violent protest, or simply toshow who's boss.2015February 12, Anna Lysyanskaya, “Want better data privacy? Demand it”, inProvidence Journal, retrieved11 June 2015:So tomorrow a patriotic Russian hacker might just start breaking into private email servers of American companies and releasing their contents, just toshow who’s boss.; (transitive,idiomatic)To demonstrate that one is dominant over orsuperiorto someone; to establish that one hascontrolof somedeviceorintractableobject.1916,B. M. Bower, chapter 21, inThe Heritage of the Sioux:"Bimeby Ishowyohwho's boss. I make yoh cry for Ramon be good to yoh!"1995March 14,Russell Baker, “Fat Is Easier”, inNew York Times, retrieved11 June 2015:A typewriter once put me in such evil temper that I threw it out a second-floor window. . . . Replacing it cost $100 or so—a small price to pay for the pleasure ofshowinga machinewho's boss.2009July 25,Lawrence O'Donnell Jr, “The Stupidity of the Gates Arrest”, inTime, retrieved11 June 2015:[H]e decided toshowGateswho's bossthe only way he knew how—by whipping out his handcuffs and abusing his power to arrest.
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