The owners of the company had/held the whip hand in the negotiations.这家公司的老板在谈判中占据主导地位。They have been negotiating as if they had the whip hand.他们谈判的架势好似他们已经控制了局面。These days the shopper has the whip hand, and will not buy if stores fail to lower their prices.如今购物者占主导地位，如果商店不降价，他们是不会买的。