big cheese
English
Etymology
From big + cheese (“wealth, fame, importance”).
Earliest use to mean importance:
- 1910, O. Henry, Unprofessional Servant:
- Del had crawled from some Tenth Avenue basement like a lean rat and had bitten his way into the Big Cheese... He had danced his way into fame in sixteen minutes.
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
big cheese (plural big cheeses)
- (idiomatic) A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
- He'll be meeting with the big cheese first thing tomorrow, to present his proposal.
- 1980, Robert Stack as Rex Kramer, Airplane!, written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker:
- I know. But it's his ship now, his command; he's in charge, he's the boss, the head man, the top dog, the big cheese, the head honcho, number one...
- 1995, Rich Mendoza (music), “Where The Money Goes”, in Money Rock, performed by Schoolhouse Rock!/Jack Sheldon:
- If not for all these bills and taxes, our income would more than suffice. I feel like a real big cheese, until everybody takes a slice!
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:big cheese
Translations
an important figure
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