the man of the house
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe man of the housethe man of the housethe most important male member of a family, who is responsible for doing things such as paying bills, making important decisions etc Since my father’s death, my eldest brother has been the man of the house. → manExamples from the Corpusthe man of the house• But even when the man of the house was around, she was head of the household and determined all our fortunes.