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big cheese. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
big cheese, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
big cheese in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
From big + cheese (“wealth, fame, importance”). Earliest use to mean importance from 1910.
Pronunciation
Noun
big cheese (plural big cheeses)
- (idiomatic) A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:important person
He’ll be meeting with the big cheese first thing tomorrow, to present his proposal.
1980, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, Airplane!, spoken by Rex Kramer (Robert Stack):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, “Where The Money Goes”, in Rich Mendoza (music), 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!
Derived terms
Translations
References
- ^ Gary Martin (1997–) “Big cheese”, in The Phrase Finder.
- ^ O. Henry (1910) 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.”