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Synonyms

power behind the throne

Idioms  

  1. A person with great influence who stays behind the scenes and has no apparent authority. For example, Harry may be the CEO, but it's obvious that his wife is the power behind the throne. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Jones said McSweeney was perceived "by a lot of MPs as the power behind the throne" and "whispering into his ear".

From BBC

"But like any good power behind the throne, you really didn't see her hand that much, so no one really knew how powerful she was."

From BBC

"She was a power behind the throne," he adds.

From BBC

They are accusing Musk of being the true power behind the throne.

From Salon

She later said that Conservative-supporting newspapers had wrongly portrayed her as the power behind the throne, by suggesting she was more intelligent than her husband.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.