write one's own ticket

write one's own ticket idiom
Set one's own conditions or course of action according to one's wishes or needs. For example, This generous grant lets recipients write their own tickets. This term uses ticket in the sense of “something entitling the holder to a privilege.” [Colloquial; 1920s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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