powers that be
nounEtymology After Romans 13:1 in the Tyndale Bible and the King James Version. The phrase is a translation of the Ancient Greek αἱ οὖσαι ἐξουσίαι (hai oûsai exousíai, “the existing authorities”). The verb be is the archaic third-person plural present indicative form, equivalent to the modern are, and not a subjunctive.
1
Idiomatic The holders of power or the authorities in a given situation, especially if seen as being faceless or unreasonably bureaucratic.
- [I]t appeared as though the hospital at Barchester would fall into abeyance, unless the powers that be should take some steps towards putting it once more into working order.1857, Anthony Trollope, “Hiram’s Hospital According to Act of Parliament”, in Barchester Towers. […], volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, →OCLC, page 20:
- Whoever you elect, he will legislate in favor of ‘law and order,’ to protect things as they are. The main concern of the powers that be is that the people should continue to believe in and uphold the existing system.1929, Alexander Berkman, chapter 10, in Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism, New York: Vanguard Press, →OCLC:
2 more examples
- Time is truly wastin', there's no guarantee / Smile is in the makin', we've got to fight the powers that be1975, “Fight the Power (Part 1 & 2)”, in The Heat Is On, performed by The Isley Brothers:
- The powers that be, they trick us / Loopholes to evict us2021, “Skyline”, in Parallel World, performed by Cadence Weapon:
- Related terms
- establishment, the man