ANSWER TOの意味、～の指揮下にある、～の指図に従う

@Work 2010.12.13
Seasons greetings! With Christmas fast approaching, the WordMaster has brought you a stockingful of (mostly) business idioms, each as colorful as the paper it's wrapped in!
Today's Lesson CATEGORY: イディオム
 

ANSWER TO (someone)   （人）の指揮下にある、（人）の指図に従う

Explanation
To answer to someone is to take orders from them and be required to explain your actions and decisions to them.
answer to ＋（人） は、人の指図を受け、また、自分の行動や決定をその人に説明しなければならない、つまり、誰かの指揮下にある、という意味です。
ANSWER TO (someone)

examples
1 (middle-aged employee)
My new supervisor is just a few years out of college. It's odd having to answer to someone 20 years my junior.
2 What I like most about running my own business is that I don't have to answer to anyone but myself.
3 The CEO and other officers report directly to the board of directors, and the board answers to the shareholders.
英会話レッスン Ho ho ho!