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authority

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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!

See also: authority, mercy, of, throw

have it on good authority

to believe that certain information is true because it came from a person or document you can trust I have it on good authority that their business is not doing well.

See also: authority, good, have, on

carry weight

to be important and have influence Her opinion carries a lot of weight with the boss. A partnership without a written agreement carries no legal weight.

Usage notes: usually used with some, little, and other modifiers, as in the examples

See also: carry, weight

carry weight

if what you do or say carries weight with someone, it seems important to them and will influence what they do or think (often + with ) Her opinion carries a lot of weight with the boss.

See carry coals to Newcastle

See also: carry, weight

have it on good authority

to believe that a piece of information is true because you trust the person who told you (often + that ) I have it on good authority that we're about to be given a pay increase.

See also: authority, good, have, on

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

carry weight

verb

See carry an amount of weight

See also: carry, weight