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student asking question

Does the word "rein" have the same meaning as "role?"

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

No, not quite! Here "reins" is metaphorical. The phrase "take the reins" means to "take control," and it comes from when horses used to be the means of transport, and the "reins" attached to them is how you would drive and control the horse. Ex: Can you take the reins on this project? A family emergency has come up. Ex: I decided to take the reins when I saw it was all very disorganized. Ex: Charlie took the reins, and the party turned out really well.

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