rule the day

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

rule the day

1. (idiomatic) To set the standard which guides behavior; to control a situation, group, strategy, etc.
   • 1700, John Dryden, "The Secular Masque":

     The world was then so light,

     I scarcely felt the weight;

     Joy ruled the day, and Love the night.

   • 1877, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Theo, ch. 5:

     She was a woman of caprices, and her caprices always ruled the day.

   • 1995 December 18, Derek Pringle, "Cricket: Matthews fingered over his thumbs," Independent (UK) (retrieved 1 Sept 2017):

     [C]ommon sense rules the day. . . . Everything can look suspicious, but only the umpires can tell if the ball's condition has been altered.

   • 2004 January 19, John F. Dickerson, "Confessions Of A White House Insider," Time (retrieved 1 Sept 2017):

     A book about former Treasury chief O'Neill paints a presidency in which ideology and politics rule the day.

   • 2016 January 19, Jane A. Peterson, "At Watch Auctions, Vintage and Prime to Be Most Prized Qualities," New York Times (retrieved 1 Sept 2017):

     “Vintage watch collecting is growing in scale and value in a way we have never seen before. Condition and rarity are ruling the day in driving prices to new levels.”