the tail wagging the dog

idiomPart oftail

the tail wagging the dog — idiom

1. a situation in which a small or unimportant part of something controls or domina

1.idiom
Definition

a situation in which a small or unimportant part of something controls or dominates the larger or more important part

Example

Letting one intern decide the schedule is like the tail wagging the dog around here.

Critics argued that the committee was the tail wagging the dog, overriding the full board.