hold all the aces
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Also, hold all the trumps. Be in a winning position, as in We can't argue with Jeff; he holds all the aces, or If Jean refuses, he'll reveal that he holds all the trumps and force her to give in. These expressions allude to card games in which the ace or a trump card outranks all the others. Also see play one's cards right; trump card.
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Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?
Words nearby hold all the aces
hold a candle to, not, hold against, hold a grudge, hold a gun to someone's head, holdall, hold all the aces, hold at bay, holdback, hold button, hold court, holddown
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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