powers that be

短语

当权者

发音

AU

词形变化

the powers that be 复数 only 复数

别名

powers-that-be

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    The holders of power or the authorities in a given situation, especially if seen as being faceless or unreasonably bureaucratic.

    当权者

    习语 仅复数

词源

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”). “Be” is the archaic third-person plural present indicative form, equivalent to the modern “are”, not a subjunctive.

来源：wiktionary